The Energy Vampire
by crematosis
Summary: AU Because of a curse, Fayt Leingod is a very lonely boy. He must stay away from society or risk them finding out about his secret. But what will Fayt do when Albel wants to be his friend? Now with more futuristic things things like super technonolgy
1. A monster Child

A/N: Luckily, I know what I'm going to be doing for this story…for a change I planned it out. Good news for you…I won't be stopping in the middle cause I run out of ideas. XD The bad news is that this story is getting more and more futuristic as the story goes on. Poor Fayt. XD

Disclaimer: Fayt and Albel are not mine, but the story idea is kinda sorta all mine. XD

Fayt Leingod sat under a tree brooding. Had it only been five years since his father had been killed? "Killed because of me," Fayt whispered bitterly. "Because of what I am. I'm a monster."

"_Fayt, you were always meant to be alone," his father said softly. He had been sitting on the floor, reading a story to Fayt when one of his melancholy moods had come on._

"_But, I'm not alone, dad," young Fayt had protested. "I'm with you."_

"_You'll understand when you get older. Never to get married or share a kiss with a lover."_

_Fayt scowled. "Who cares about those things?"_

"_You're only a child, Fayt. You'll miss those things when you grow up."_

"_Well, if I ever get a smelly girl to like me, she can kiss my forehead like mom used to do. She's not kissing me on the mouth. That's nasty." Fayt made a face._

"_You aren't going to get a girl, son. They're nothing but trouble. What happens if they find out?"_

"_Aw, I'm not going to kiss anybody," Fayt said indignantly. "They don't need to be scared of me."_

"_Wrong,Fayt. Remember the-oh wait, that was before you were born. Anyway, this crazy scientist hired a bunch of girls with the same…curse that you have. They made a circus together and it was the girls' job to kiss anybody that they saw leaving the show. There was a big mess when that came out. The government stepped in and took all those girls away to some secret testing facility. I don't want that to happen to you."_

"_I'm not going to do anything like that," Fayt protested._

"_It doesn't matter. They won't take the chance. You're 10 years old, Fayt. You're lucky you survived for this long."_

'_Just wait! I'll find someone who loves me and finds out but still loves me."_

"_No, Fayt. No one will ever love you."_

"_Don't **you** love me?"_

"_No, that would be too dangerous," his father said calmly. "But I do care about you."_

"_I'm not dangerous, Dad! I won't hurt you."_

_His father sighed. "I know you try to be careful, but you could hurt someone, even kill them. I know you wouldn't mean to but it would still be your fault."_

"_But-"_

"_Quiet, Fayt." His father put a finger to his lips and slowly got up. "That was the doorbell. I'll be right back."_

"_Let us in, Mr. Leingod," a gruff voice called out. "We're with the Citizen's Protection League."_

"_Of course. Come right in" His father exuded politeness and hospitality as he opened the door. "What can I do for you?"_

"_The city has recently authorized us as hunters."_

"_Hunters?"_

"_Hunters of the demons amongst us, otherwise known as energy vampires. We recently obtained a list of unusual births from all the hospitals in the area and we started following those leads. We've got testimony from your wife."_

_Fayt edged back against the wall and drew his knees up to his chin. 'Mom left us when she saw I was a monster," he whispered._

"_Mr. Leingod, we just want to look at your son. If we see that he is indeed possessed by the dark spirit, we'll put him out of his misery and end your shame."_

"_Uh, why of course! I'll go look for him."_

_Fayt looked up from his hiding place under the desk against the wall as his father returned. 'Are they going to take me away?" he asked in a small voice._

"_No, they're going to kill you. Quickly, grab as many survival books are you can…a compass and an emergency blanket. Here, take these as well." He thrust a pile of clothes into Fayt's hands. "Put everything in your backpack."_

_He stopped at the door and looked back at Fayt, knowing it was probably the last time they would see each other. Fayt needed to run far away where they knew nothing of his curse._

"_I always knew this day would come, but I had hoped it wouldn't be for a long time. Climb out the window and don't stop running, no matter what. I'll try to stall them." Fat stared at him forlornly and his father flapped his hands. "Go, hurry!"_

_Fayt quickly began stuffing everything into his backpack as his father rejoined the two men in the kitchen. He grabbed an extra water bottle. He heard the sounds of arguments as he climbed on top of his dresser beneath the window and carefully opened it._

"_I can't find him. He must not be here. Maybe he's at a friend's house."_

"_What? You let that creature socialize with innocent children?" The second man's booming voice rolled through the house._

"_He's my son, the only thing I have left. Besides, he's just a child."_

"_He is the most dangerous at his age. An experimental kiss with an innocent girl could end in death."_

"_Fayt's careful. Besides, he's not even interested in girls."_

"_If you ask me, the next thing that needs to be curbed is our burgeoning homosexual population," the first man growled._

"_But Mayor Jones is gay," Fayt's father reminded them._

"_Hmph."_

_Fayt steadied himself on the dresser and slowly edged onto the window sill, looking down at the three foot drop._

"_Look, gentleman. Fayt won't kiss anybody. I've made sure he knows the dangers. I keep him inside most of the time anyway."_

"_We won't wait for accidents to happen."_

"_But to shoot him?" Mr. Leingod's voice rose with anger. "He's just a boy._

"_Wrong, Mr. Leingod. He is a terrible monster that must be stopped./ We'll start searching now."_

_Fayt worked up his courage and jumped down, tumbling as he hit the ground. He got up and raced towards the forest just beyond their house."_

"_Hey, Jenkins! There he goes!" the first man yelled excitedly. "Let's get him."_

"_No, not my son!" Mr. Leingod shouted. "Run, Fayt!"_

_Fayt kept running over the sounds of machine gun fire._


	2. Hunted

A/N: I'm terribly sorry that I haven't been working on writing for awhile. Unfortunately, that was because I accidentally spilled water on my keyboard and the whole top row of keys don't work and my period key is mushy. How did I type anything you ask? By copying and pasting…this is a huge pain when 4 out of 5 vowels are on the top row. I've got good news and bad news…bad news…my keyboard is still wrecked…but the good news is, I just saved hundreds of dollars by switching to Geico! No I'm just kidding…I don't need car insurance. I don't even have a car. What really happened is, I got to use my dad's computer for a bit to type stuff up. But I can't use his computer all the time, only when he's not using it…so…hopefully new keyboards don't cost a lot.

Disclaimer: Who created Star Ocean anyway? It certainly wasn't me.

Fayt had spent most of his life without fiends, hiding from society. Within a month he had reached the edge of the forest and began to explore in new directions. One side of the forest bordered on a small playground next to a town. Children were always playing on the swings with their friends and it made Fayt feel even lonelier.

Fayt knew it was risky, but he couldn't stand to be alone anymore. A young family with a boy about Fayt's age was camping in the woods. Fayt watched them for a few days before he made his move. He approached the boy, who introduced himself as Robert. Fayt and Robert spent the whole week of the camping trip together. Robert was a quiet, studious boy who enjoyed learning about the local wildlife from Fayt Before long, they were almost friends

Knowing Robert's unemotional, scientific detachment, Fayt felt he could confide his secret to Robert. He would not get hysterical or panic learning that Fayt was an energy vampire. So at the end of the week, Fayt told Robert everything. Robert listened and didn't judge Fayt. He seemed to merely take a scientific interest. Robert's home was close to the campsite. He promised to take food to Fayt and occasionally invite him over to his house so the boy wouldn't starve. His only condition was that Fayt had to promise never to kiss him. Fayt readily agreed.

But by his twelfth birthday, everything changed. Fayt's condition worsened as he went through puberty. His metabolism slowly began to change. He could no longer survive only on food. Kissing was no longer optional. It was necessary.

Fayt entered a phase of dangerous night activities. He would break into people's homes late at night while they were sleeping. The people would not notice a little energy loss if they were asleep, especially since it was replenished within the hour by their own bodies.

However, Robert's mother soon realized that Fayt was an orphan and insisted he stay at their home. Fayt was given his own room right next door to Robert's parents. The nighttime adventures were ended. Fayt was forced to kiss Robert.

Robert's calm tolerance turned into open revulsion. Not only did he kick Fayt out of his house, but he actually alerted the authorities. Fayt had lost his only friend and now he was back on the run.

Fayt resurfaced on the other side of the forest in a nature park around the forest boundaries. It was near a large, sprawling city, so there would be plenty of victims for Fayt to feed on.

Fayt chose a huge oak tree as his usual spot in the park. He sat there day after day, hugging his knees to his chest, lonely and bored out of his mind. He had no job, no car, no friends, nothing to do. Occasionally, a young couple would come by and ask Fayt if he minded if they sat on the other side of the tree. Fayt didn't mind at all. However, if the shrieks and giggling got too much for him to handle, he would get up and walk around until the flushed and disheveled couple thanked him and moved on. Unfortunately for Fayt, it was a very popular park for lovers.

Fayt interacted very little with society outside of the park except to buy new clothes with a few dollars he had stolen from victims. Each time, it was a very traumatic experience for Fayt. He worried constantly that someone would know he had stolen money or they would be able to tell he was a vampire just by looking at him. He was a criminal hiding in pain sight, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. It would have been easier to hide in the forest all day, where there was no need to make sue his clothes looked decent. However, the forest was dark and cold and filled with wild animals. The oak tree was a much safer place.

So there Fayt sat, brooding about his father. It was possible Mr. Leingod was still alive, that the agents had missed, or that he was injured, but still alive, but both scenarios were doubtful. They were special trained men with powerful guns that shot to kill. And even if his father was till alive, Fayt could not go back. They were probably still searching for him.

As Fayt reflected on how he was constantly being hunted, he noticed another lone man settling down on the side of the tree barely a foot from Fayt. He did not speak to Fayt and Fayt made no move to starting a conversation. He simply watched the newcomer out of the corner of his eye as the man relaxed, stretching out his legs and leaning back against the tree.

Fayt was puzzled by his lack of companionship. Most people traveled in couples. It couldn't be because of his looks. He was tall, a little skinny, but in good shape.

Fayt was startled when the man jerked slightly as a bird flew over. His nearly shoulder length black hair with blonde tips fell out of his face and Fayt could see his deep crimson eyes. Fayt's eyes slid over his clothes, becoming even more unnerved. He took in the other man's tight gray t-shirt, the black trench coat, black bondage pants, and black combat boots. That was slightly worrying in itself, but what really worried Fayt were the silver cross around the man's neck and the knife on a loop on his pants.

_Oh crud_, Fayt though. _He's a vampire hunter._


	3. Someone like me

A/N: This story is beginning to intrigue me. It's so interesting to write. I'm a very sci-fi/fantasy fantasy fangirl at heart. Vampires, aliens, lobotomies, flying cars, dragons….all that stuff has always interested me. But I didn't think I could write it well until I reminded myself that star Ocean itself is fantasy. Heh, fancy that…so I can write it! And vampires have always seemed cool because they have to be all sneaky and hide from society…Abel would be perfect for that…but poor Fayt, he has to suffer. Anyway, thank you to all my reviewers who boost my ego even though I felt this story sucked! If you guys like it, I won't argue with you. XD

Disclaimer: I don't own this. It's an idea created from Star Ocean, blade, and various other vampire stories that I've read/movies that I've watched.

Fayt tried to keep calm, tried to keep his rapidly beating heart from giving him away, tried to tear his eyes from the source of his imminent death. But Fayt failed dramatically and sat frozen, unable to look away.

The man sat beside Fayt, oblivious it seemed to Fayt's inner turmoil until at last he noticed Fayt staring at him. He scowled and gave Fayt a sidelong look with suspicious eyes.

Fayt yelped and jumped to his feet, backing away so quickly he almost tripped. "Don't kill me!" Fayt screeched.

The man cocked his head to one side, slightly puzzled. The he let out a short bark of laughter. "High-strung, aren't you? I admit I don't put up with a lot of crap, but Albel Nox is not about to kill someone just for sitting near him.What on earth gave you that idea?"

Fayt's face turned red with embarrassment. There was no way he could admit what he thought without giving away what he was, so he frantically tried to come up with another excuse. "Er, I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions, but with the way you look, I-uh, I thought you were in a gang or something."

"I am," Albel said calmly, his eyes daring Fayt to argue the fact.

Fayt's jaw dropped. "Wha-at! But-but gangsters are supposed to kill people for fun!"

Albel frowned. "Not really. It used to be that way though. Now, most of us don't do anything more dangerous than spray graffiti on a building. I admit, there are still some idiots that think a good time is hanging out car windows spraying bullets at little kids that walk by."

Fayt blinked. "Wow, I always thought you guys were criminals."

"Times have changed," Albel said firmly. "I know you wouldn't really know because I see you just sit here everyday. It's rather unfortunate. You ought to join a gang or something, get away from this tree everyday."

Fayt chewed his bottom lip worriedly. "I don't know. If you don't kill people, what do you do in a gang?"

Albel shrugged. "The one I'm in, we're just a protection gang. We spar with each other, train, get fit. That way, if anyone attacks us, we can defend ourselves. I've killed before. Some fool tried to jump me in a dark alley with a knife. I snapped his knife and then broke his jaw and he cut it out real fast."

Fayt nodded solemnly. "So, all you do is practice self-defense. Sounds like a good idea."

Albel hesitated. "Well, it's not exactly just that."

Fayt blinked. "What else do you do?"

"Well, for one thing, all of us are gay."

Fayt looked puzzled. "What does that mean?"

Albel looked surprised. "You honestly don't know? Geez, kid, you know even less about the world then I thought."

"Am I gay?" Fayt asked worriedly.

"Well, we'll find out. Do you like boys, kid?"

"Yeah," Fayt said cheerfully. "I like people and I've mostly had friends that were boys so we could catch frogs. Girls are too worried about getting their shoes muddy."

Albel sighed. "That's not what I mean. It's not that kind of like."

"What kind of like is it?"

"Well, would you hug a boy?"

"Yeah," Fayt said eagerly.

"Hold hands with a boy?"

"Yup."

"Kiss a boy?"

Fayt reacted strongly. "Eww! No, not kissing! I don't kiss anybody ever."

Albel looked amused. "Alright, you don't have to kiss anybody. We won't force you. But kissing really isn't all that bad."

"I know," Fayt said miserably. "It's just that…well, I kiss weird."

"I'm sure you're okay."

"No. I can't kiss anybody. I kissed my friend and he got rid of me."

Albel nodded at the "he". "Well, I'm pretty sure you are gay, so you can come with me and meet my gang. They won't stop being your friend because you kiss them. They like being kissed." He chuckled.

"No," Fayt said firmly. "I'm not losing another friend."

Albel shrugged. "Suit yourself. You don't have to do anything with anybody until you get over the trauma of being rejected. But it's nice to be in a gang that thinks the same as you do. That way it's easier to get dates. And if you ever decide to date any of my boys, I'll make sure they'll be nice to you."

"Your boys? You're the leader?" Fayt looked at Albel admiringly.

"Yup." Albel rose and stretched luxuriously. "Alright, come with me." He held out a hand to Fayt and Fayt slipped his hand inside of Albel's.

Albel smirked at Fayt. "You know, I never got your name."

"Fayt Leingod."

"Fayt, that's an interesting name. Not very common."

"No," Fayt agreed. He tried to keep his voice neutral as he asked, "So, what's the necklace for?"

"Hmn? Oh, the silver cross? My dad gave it to me. He's a vampire hunter. You'll probably meet him at my house. The gang meets in my garage."

Fayt tried not to hyperventilate too loudly. _Oh great. Right back where I was. Trying to avoid being killed by a vampire hunter. Real smart, Fayt. Make friends with the vampire hunter's kid. The house is probably full of vampire torturing devices and vampire scanners and-_

"Hey, Fayt, are you okay? You look a little worried. I promise that my gang won't hurt you. With me in charge, no one dares get out of line." Albel laughed wickedly.

"Oh, I know," Fayt said quietly. "I'm not afraid of them." _I'm not afraid of Albel's friends. It's his dad I'm really worried about._


	4. A family of friends

A/N: Wheee…now more people besides just Albel and Fayt. XD And unfortunately, I had to come up with a bunch of OCs because I couldn't think of enough star ocean dudes. XD

Disclaimer: I own….a sock! Wheee!

Albel stopped at a gray metal door. Loud music could be heard from behind the door. Albel put his arm around Fayt's shoulder. "Alright, before we go inside, I need to prepare you a little bit."

Fayt looked nervous. "You said they wouldn't hurt me."

"They won't," Albel assured him. "And if they try to molest you, I'll boil them with their own intestines, but that's not the point. They can be a little…" He paused to think of the word "overwhelming at times. Most of them are already dating somebody so I doubt they'll try to make a pass at you, but they're loud and very friendly. You strike me as the shy type since you always sit there by yourself. So, if anybody's bugging you, just tell me and I'll make him give you some space."

Fayt smiled weakly. "I'm sure I'll be okay."

Albel shoved open the door and pressed a button on the walls. The music cut off and the laughter in the room faded.

"Aww, what was that for?" someone complained.

Albel frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. "Can't you idiots see that we have a visitor? Keep it down so he can hear us talk."

"Ooh, you've got a new boyfriend?" asked the same person, a short blonde man of about twenty with a mustache and goatee.

Albel shook his head. "No, this is the lonely kid I've been telling you about."

The blonde grinned. "Well, he doesn't have to be lonely. I'll keep him company."

"Down, Vox," Albel growled. "I don't want you jumping all over him when he doesn't even know you yet." Albel's eyes narrowed as his gaze traveled over the rest of the room. "And the same goes for the rest of you. Give the kid some space."

"Hey, he's got all the space he wants," protested another blonde, reclining on a cooler. "I'm nowhere near the kid."

Albel scowled. "Cliff, off the fridge. How many times have I told you to stay off that thing? You're liable to break it. Now get over here and introduce yourself to Fayt."

"Alright, I'm coming," Cliff muttered.

Albel began his introductions. "Okay, Mr. Molester here is Vox." Albel scowled at him. "He shouldn't have been bothering you since he already has his _own_ boyfriend."

Vox shrugged carelessly. "I can't help it if I want a little excitement."

"And the dumb blonde lying on the fridge is Cliff. Hey, didn't I tell you to get off that thing? Now get over here before I break your neck!"

Cliff quickly rolled off the cooler and shook Fayt's hand. "Nice to meet ya, kid. Just try to stay on the chief's good side and you'll be okay."

Albel rolled his eyes. "And then we have Adray, the sunburned idiot who refuses to wear a shirt, and Norton, the pale, sickly kid."

"I'm perfectly healthy. It's just a skin condition!" Norton protested, dissolving into an insane giggle. "I'm still beautiful on the inside."

Cliff mouthed to Fayt, "Don't ever go out with him. He's psycho."

Fayt blinked. "Are these all the people in your gang? It seems pretty small."

"Oh no, we've got Curtis and Brendan off dating somewhere, Michael's on vacation and Chad's home sick. He probably caught a cold kissing Trevor out in the rain."

Vox shook his head sadly. "He's not the brightest bulb."

Fayt nodded. "So, Curtis and Brendan are dating? Are any of the rest of you dating each other?"

Cliff made a choking sound. "Curtis and Brendan? That'd be a terrible power struggle." Then he frowned thoughtfully. "Although both of them could go back and forth." He stopped from a scathing look from Albel. "But, err…no, they're not dating."

Fayt blinked. "I don't understand."

Albel sighed. "Maybe I didn't make this clear enough to you, Fayt. We don't date each other. That would be like hell on earth. I suppose you could kind of say we're like a dating service because we all have similar interests. And then we have a partner gang that we date from. Because, you see, all of us here are more the dominant type and the Dodgers are more the submissive type. It all works out."

Fayt frowned. "The Dogers? Didn't that used to be a baseball team?"

Albel nodded. "Yup. You certainly know your history." He smiled proudly. "It all started way back in 2010 when Vincent Romero of the Yankees jumped Chad Nojiwiscz of the Dodgers right there in the dugout. That little event sparked a nice whirlwind romance between the two, but anyway, that's where the names come from."

"Interesting," Fayt murmured. "So does that mean I have to join your gang to still be friends with you guys?"

"Of course not. I don't think you're the type. If you want, you can join the Dodgers. They come through here all the time and we go through their clubhouse too. But you can still hang out with us even if you're not in a gang. And you can still date anyone here you want, even if you're not in a gang. Well, anyone that's till single." He shot a murderous glance at Vox as he said that.

Vox shrugged. "But Woltar's so boring. Fayt looks so…interesting." He grinned at Fayt suggestively and Fayt backed away.

"Let him have his space," Albel growled. "The kid got the cold shoulder from another boy a little while ago. He's still hurt about it, so we need to earn his trust before he'll get over his fear of being hurt again. And raping him is not a good way to do that."

"Nobody's gonna hurt you while I'm around, kid," Cliff said fiercely. "I can't stand those kind of people. You don't have to be gay, but you at least gotta respect us.I thought those days of stupid intolerance were over."

Albel nodded. "There may be idiots out there, Fayt, but I promise that no one here will ever do that to you. Nobody here will take it out on you for being a sub either. We're not that kind. And if anybody does that to you, tell any of us and we'll fry the fool in his own saliva, strangle him with his own intestines, and hang him by the neck."

Cliff shuddered. "Thank God the days of gang warfare are over, right? You'd be a bloody killer."

"Yes," Albel murmured. "Thank God I'm on the good side." He smiled. "Alright, it's getting kind of late. Fayt, do you want me to take you home?"

"Err, not that's okay," Fayt said nervously. "I'll be fine."

Albel frowned. "It's not a good idea to be walking alone at night. If I was your mother, I'd be worried. Don't your parents get concerned that you're never home?"

"No, they don't care what I do," Fayt said in a small voice.

Albel smiled sympathetically. "Oh, one of those types? My dad's like that. He's always too busy with his job to spend time with me. But at least my mom cares. Come on, stay and have pizza with us, and if you're sure your parents wouldn't mind, you can sleep over at my house in the guest bedroom after everyone else goes home."

Fayt smiled. "I'm sure my dad won't mind. He always liked it when I was out with a friend."

"Good, then it's settled."


	5. The party's Over

A/N: I'm just filled with glee. I've been so busy lately that I really couldn't write much….so now that I can write more, I'm so happy. My inner Gir says "woohoohoo!" XD

Disclaimer: I don't anybody...well, at least not anybody as cool as Albel, as funny as Cliff, as weird as Norton, or as perverted as Vox.

Albel's mother had let him order pizza and it was delivered straight to their garage by a pizza boy. Albel noticed the predatory gleam in Vox's eyes and immediately elbowed him hard in the side and Vox glowered and gave up any plans of jumping the pizza boy.

The group ate quickly with plenty of jokes and arguing. Most of the boys seemed to be participating in an eating contest with his neighbor. Albel looked at Fayt, who looked a bit overwhelmed with the sheer volume. Albel rolled his eyes and walked over to the cooler. He pulled out a soda can, grinned at Fayt mischievously and threw it with a shout of, "Head's up!"

The can hit Cliff on the back of the head. "Oww!" Cliff shouted. He glared at Albel. "That hurt! F-"

Albel raised an eyebrow, curious to see if Cliff would continue.

Cliff paled and swallowed hard. "Aw, forget you," he ended with a growl.

Albel sighed heavily and settled down on the floor, his back against the cooler. He got himself an orange soda and sipped it absently.

Fayt crawled over and sat beside Albel. Albel tried to force a smile. "You're not enjoying yourself much, are you?"

Fayt shrugged. "I'll get used to it. It's been awhile since I actually had a conversation with anybody, much less was part of a group."

Albel put his arm around Fayt's shoulder. "Well, stick with us, kid. We'll find somewhere for you to belong. You don't look too happy out there all by yourself."

"I'm not," Fayt admitted, leaning against Albel.

Fayt jerked away as the door slammed open loudly. "Heeeeey, you guys are eating without me? That's not fair!" an equally loud voice exclaimed.

Albel rolled his eyes and motioned for Fayt to be quiet. He crept around the side of the table as the noisy redhead took a seat and reached for a slice of pizza.

"Hey, where's Albel?" the redhead asked with a mouthful of food.

Cliff glanced around but he couldn't see Albel from where he was sitting. "I dunno. He was just here a second ago. Maybe he went to the bathroom."

"Typical," the other snorted. "Some leader he is, leaving us all to ourselves. He's getting lazy if you ask me."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Cliff muttered. "He's got a lot to do lately, schoolwork, leading our gang, and on top of that, his father's started breathing down his neck."

"That's no excuse. The leader should put an effort to be here."

"How about you put an effort into showing up on time," Albel growled dangerously, rising from the floor behind the boy. "You're the one that came in late, Curtis."

Curtis gulped. "Err...oops, I didn't see you there, chief."

"Of course you didn't," Albel scoffed. "None of you would have enough balls to insult me while you thought I was still here."

Cutis sighed miserably. "Alright, I didn't really mean it. It's just…..you're always with us at meetings and stuff."

Albel rolled his eyes. "Shut up while you're still ahead. Curtis, since you were late, you've missed meeting our new friend, Fayt."

Fayt stood and offered his hand to Cutis. "This is Curtis, the loudmouth with curly red hair and freckles," Albel introduced him.

Curtis scowled but remained silent.

"How's recruiting coming or were you and Cody snogging the whole time?" Albel asked sweetly.

Curtis's eyes lit up and he leaned forward in his chair. "It's going great! I think we've got ourselves a few new members."

Albel nodded calmly. "Well, you can talk to me about it tomorrow. You guys will need to go chill at your own homes. My parents get really pissed if we stay out here in the garage making noise after 11 when they're trying to sleep."

There was a general groan of protest from the members, but Albel scowled at them. "Let's go! You had better get moving now or I'll have to break a few necks," he warned. He pushed Adray out of his chair for emphasis.

Reluctantly, everyone began to leave. Albel smirked as the last person left. "Finally, some peace and quiet." He turned to Fayt. "Okay, let's get you settled."

Albel's house was a pretty average two-story house with a three car garage and a small porch. It was painted in muted brown and beige tones which were offset by a pot of bright flowers on the porch next to a metal bench swing.

Albel frowned at the doorknob. "Crap, I left my key in my room. Oh well." He fiddled with the doorknob until a latch opened and the top of the knob swung away, revealing a tiny keypad. Albel carefully typed in a code and the knob beeped and swung shut, followed by a click as the lock opened.

Albel calmly pushed open the door and pulled Fayt inside. "Let's see if we can get you to the guest room before mom notices you're here," he whispered, feeling his way down a hallway in the dark.

A light flicked on and a slim brunette woman raced down the hall. "Albel, there you are! Oh, and you brought a friend over!"

Fayt shrank back shyly as Albel's mother hugged her son tightly. "Hello, Mrs. Nox," he said shyly.

She beamed. "What an adorable friend you have, Albel. Just the kind of friend you need to hang out with more often. Polite, respectful, quiet."

Albel scowled and struggled out of his mother's grip. "Mom, he's gay."

Her face fell slightly. "Oh darn. Why can't you find a decent friend? You need someone just to spend time with, not to date."

Albel rolled his eyes. "I'm not dating him, mother. Now, if you don't mind, I need to show Fayt where he's going to sleep."

"He can't sleep in your room," she said warningly.

"I know that," Albel growled. "He'll be in the guest room. Now, leave me alone." He shoved past her and stalked down the hall, muttering angrily to himself.

Fayt followed silently, looking around nervously. "Your mom doesn't mind having me over, does she?" he asked anxiously.

"Of course not. Don't be silly. She loves having company over. It's dad that you've got to worry about."

"Did I hear you say something about me?" said a deep male voice right behind Fayt. Fayt jumped and whirled around.

Albel's dad frowned and looked at Fayt long and hard. "Now, who are you and what are you doing in my home? I bet you're trying to prey off my son. Speak up now or I'll have to shoot."

Fayt shook with fear and backed away nervously. "P-please don't kill m-me. I-I haven't done an-anything."

"Dad," Albel growled. "Stop scaring away all my friends. Just because you don't know him doesn't mean he's evil. I was trying to be nice and invite him to spend the night and then you have to try and kill him! Go off and shoot random people in the park or something but leave my friends alone."

"Albel," his father said gruffly. "I'm doing it for your best interest. You never know who could be a vampire. You act like vampires would never get you because you've taken karate. No one is safe."

Albel scowled angrily. "Take your stupid "protection" crud and shove it. I am not going to get killed by a vampire, alright? Not everybody is a vampire. I'm surprised you trusted Mom enough to marry her. Let's go, Fayt."

Albel took Fayt's hand and pulled him down the hallway, giving his dad a last murderous glance.

"I don't want to inconvenience your relationship with your father by staying here," Fayt said softly. "It would be awkward for me to be in your home when he doesn't want me here."

"Nonsense," Albel growled. "Mom will talk to him. Anyway, it would inconvenience me if you didn't stay. I want you to stay."

Fayt turned pink. "Nobody's wanted me before," he said timidly.

"Well, I do. You're my friend." He hugged Fayt quickly and then gently pushed him inside a small, cozy looking room. "Here, you can stay in this room for tonight," Albel said gruffly.

Fayt could barely mask his delight as he carefully sat on the bed, almost fearful that it would break. "Wow, you have a nice bed. My bed is…lumpy." He sadly recalled the bed of grass and pine needles over the occasional rock and pine cone.

Albel smirked. "Well, you can come and sleep here anytime you want. My room is right next door if you need anything, okay?"

Fayt happily snuggled beneath the sheets. "I'll be fine. You're so kind to let me sleep over here tonight."

Albel shrugged. "It's what I do. Now, good-night, Fayt." He kissed Fayt's forehead and turned off the light.


	6. the fight to survive

A/N: Dun dun dun! Things are going to get more mysterious and stuff…Poor Fayt...so freaked out about everything. XD It's not his fault Albel's dad is kind of a psycho. Lol, I love to torture Fayt so.

Disclaimer: I own…everything! Yes, I do! I'm so proud! –anvil falls on head- Ack! Alright, alright…I don't! Just don't hurt me anymore! –hides under a desk-

Fayt woke up in the early hours of the morning in total darkness. He tried to remember where he was. Everything felt so wrong and panic was beginning to rise up in his throat. He blindly stumbled off the bed, trying to find the door through the darkness. He reached for where the doorknob should be and his hand closed over warm skin. Fayt screamed and recoiled. His frantic screams were only stopped by Albel's hand over his mouth.

"Easy, it's just me," Albel whispered into Fayt's ear. "I'm sorry for startling you. I just wanted to see if you were up yet."

Fayt took a shaky breath, trying to reassure himself. "It's okay. I just forgot for a moment where I was, and then I thought maybe it was your dad coming to kill me in my sleep." He shuddered. "I've had so many horrible nightmares about someone trying to kill me."

Albel turned on one light switch and the room was bathed in a soft glow. Albel sat on the side of the bed and gestured for Fayt to do the same.

Fayt sat meekly beside Albel and allowed Albel to wrap his arms around him. Fear and anguish were still reflected in Fayt's eyes.

Albel was silent for a long moment before he spoke. "My dad may overreact a lot, but he's not that much of a monster. He wouldn't kill you in your sleep. He may take a blood sample to see if you're a vampire, but he wouldn't kill first. He's always been a vampire hunter and he used to be a pretty decent one, until the one that got away five years ago."

Fayt suddenly felt sick. "What do you mean?"

Albel shrugged. "He and his partner went to go on an ordinary mission to capture a vampire. But it was a little boy. Dad was just going to kill the kid and put him out of his misery but the boy's father helped him escape. Dad had to shoot the father for treason and the kid was never seen again. Dad was never the same after that. He doesn't want another vampire to escape."

Fayt was stunned. That was why Albel's dad scared him so much. Now that he thought about it, his voice was rather familiar. Thank goodness for Fayt that Mr. Nox had never actually seen him, or he would have recognized him immediately and killed him. But now Fayt was going to have to be extremely careful not to show how nervous he was around the vampire hunter.

Albel held Fayt tightly. "Are you okay now, Fayt?"

Fayt gave a small nod. "I'll be okay," he said in a quiet voice.

"Good. Now you can stay as long as you want, but I'll walk you home whenever you want to go."

"No! I mean, you don't have to. I'll be fine by myself."

Albel frowned. "You're an odd one, Fayt. Most people don't like to be alone. Almost everyone is dating someone so they're never alone."

Fayt frowned. "But you're not dating anyone either."

Albel shrugged. "That's why I have my gang so I'm not alone. I had hoped that I could date the other gang leader since that would make a lot of sense, but he's really not my type. To be the leader he has to be less submissive than the rest of the gang, so we would probably get into arguments, both of us used to being in charge."

"You'll find someone eventually," Fayt murmured. "But I'm destined to be alone. That's what my dad told me when I was little."

"You're not alone," Albel said softly. "I'm here for you and so are the other boys. I'm not dating you, but I'm still your friend. I'm not going to let you suffer in silence forever. One of these days I'll get you to trust again, and then you can find someone who loves you for who you are."

Fayt sniffled. "Thanks, Albel. It's nice to have a friend. But I think I need to go home now."

"Okay. Are you sure you don't want me to walk you home?"

Fayt nodded. "I'm sure. I don't live too far from here. I could stay for breakfast, but then I really need to go."

Albel raised an eyebrow. "Will you come back for our meeting later this afternoon?"

"Are you guys going to be partying again? It looks like all you do is eat and listen to music."

"Well, that wasn't really a meeting," Albel conceded. "I just invited them over to hang out. Today, we're actually going to do something besides stuff our faces. First, Curtis and I need to talk about how the recruiting is going. Then we're going to have training for our competition. All the protection gangs in the area hold a general fighting competition every year so I have to whip my boys into shape. They've been slacking off. If you want to come and train with us, you're welcome to do so. I don't know what you know about martial arts, but that doesn't really matter. Cliff is as clumsy as heck and Norton's too stupid to learn how to do anything right." He frowned thoughtfully. "You probably wouldn't be too bad at it. You have the right build."

Fayt blushed. "Thank you. Nobody's ever said such nice things about me before."

Albel sighed. "That's what happens when you don't talk to anybody. Now, would you like me to-"

"Albel!" his father called, with a sharp edge to his voice.

Albel groaned. "I have to go. You can still show up and just watch, even if you're not interested in fighting. It'll be good for you to have someone to talk to and it'll be good for me to have someone sane to talk to when I'm frustrated with all my idiots."

Fayt smiled. "I'll be there."

Fayt waited until Albel had turned back to go inside before jogging back to the forest.


	7. Broken Dreams

A/N: Fun, fun. XD How else can I get poor Fayt in trouble? Trying so hard to escape and be hidden, and Albel trying so hard to make Fayt have friends….I think I'm seeing something ironic here. XD

Disclaimer: These things are getting really boring….zzzzzz. You've heard them a billion times.

Fayt was feeling extremely bored. He wasn't sure what was going on, but it seemed that lovebirds were constantly using his tree. Fayt itched with impatience. He disliked having to keep getting up and coming back.

Fayt's mind drifted back to Albel. He didn't have a watch to tell him when it was two o'clock, but he could tell that it was beginning to drift into the afternoon. He desperately wanted something to do than avoid couples, so he finally decided with himself to go back and see Albel.

Fayt found Albel in the garage kicking a tool chest to one side and frowning. "Still not enough space."

"Albel?" Fayt asked hesitantly.

Albel turned around. "Oh, hey there. You're a little early, but that's no problem. You can help me decide where we should set up practice."

Fayt blinked. "Where do you usually practice?"

Albel shrugged. "We used to practice inside here, but now it's gotten so cluttered with stuff, there's not enough room to move without knocking things over. It'd be too much of a pain to move everything, so I think we need to go elsewhere this year."

"You could always go to the park," Fayt suggested meekly.

"Great idea. Lots of open space. Hey, Curtis, come out here!"

Curtis pushed through the door into the garage. "Yeah?" he asked cautiously.

"I want you to start gathering up the equipment. We're going to set up in the park."

Curtis bit back a groan and retreated back to the house to gather the stuff.

Albel grinned at Fayt. "Curtis is our helper boy for today. To punish him for his loud mouth, he's going to carry everything we need and do anything we need to set up or pack up. He'll be so exhausted after that, he won't have the strength to mouth off."

Fayt shrugged. "Whatever you say."

Albel frowned thoughtfully. "Now, why don't you write a note to everyone telling them we'll be at the park and stick it on the door so they can see it when they come by? I'll go with Curtis to the park and oversee all the set-up. See you later, Fayt."

Fayt sighed and sat down at a small desk in a corner of the garage and searched the drawers for paper. "Now, what do I write?" Fayt asked himself quietly. "What do I tell people I barely know? Dear friends? Dear gang?" Fayt bit his lip. "Do I even remember how to spell that? I wonder how long it's been since I've actually written anything."

The door opened and Cliff peered inside. "Hey, Fayt. Where's Albel?"

"He's at the park. He told me to write a note telling everyone we'll be practicing in the park."

Cliff frowned. "You're new here and he's already assigning you work. Here, I'll do it and you can go ahead and go to the park."

"But-" Fayt protested.

"Take it easy, kid. No problem." Cliff pulled a black marker out of the drawer and in big letter wrote, "We're at the park!"

Cliff grinned. "See? I'm already done. Now, you go on ahead and I'll just tape this to the door."

"Alright," Fayt said reluctantly.

In the park, Fayt met up with Albel who was standing by looking amused as Curtis struggled with unfolding a rusty metal chair. Albel nodded briefly at Fayt and eyed Curtis with glee.

Fayt settled into the grass by a small bark tree. Cliff and Vox had soon made it to the park and were cheerfully arguing about last year's competition. Fayt listened silently, enjoying hearing their friendship.

Albel squatted down in the grass beside Fayt. He had abandoned the trench coat for the moment and had hung it on a nearby tree branch. Albel stretched leisurely. "It's getting to be a hot day, isn't it?"

"Not too bad," Fayt said meekly. "I've seen worse."

Albel looked amused. "Well, then, if you're not melting in the sun, why don't I have you spar against Norton for a little practice?"

Norton scowled. "You insulting my ability by making me fight this weak little brat?"

Albel sighed. "May I remind you that you're not the "all powerful Norton" that you think you are? Vox beat you, Cliff beat you, I beat you, even Curtis beat you. There's nobody left for you to face except Fayt."

Norton again grumbled about the outrage and he gave Fayt an evil smirk. "Who do you think you are to go against me? I will crush you and wipe the floor with your carcass. Muahahaha!"

Cliff scowled. "Go easy on the killing, Norton. He's just a kid."

Albel also scowled at Norton. "Okay, let's go over the rules. No killing. No use of any weapons. And please try not to destroy the whole park. I'd like you both to stay inside this square of ribbon Curtis made. Right, the first person to knock the other down wins."

Norton gave Fayt a feral look as he dropped into a fighting stance. Fayt nervously stayed a safe distance away from him.

For a moment, nobody moved. Then Norton lunged at Fayt. Fayt yelped and dove to the side.

"The kid's quick," Cliff noted. "He's got lightning-fast reflexes."

"You are no match for me," Norton growled.

Norton continued circling around Fayt, aiming kicks and punches that Fayt easily dodged. Fayt was beginning to calm down, even enjoy the fight.

"Hold still, you brat!" Norton snarled as Fayt rolled out of the way of another punch.

Fayt crouched on the ground, eying Norton as he came close. Norton laughed madly. "This time, I'll crush you!"

"Don't think so," Fayt said calmly, kicking upward and making contact with Norton's kneecap. There was a splintering sound and Norton screeched as he collapsed to the ground.

Cliff winced. "Ooh, that's gonna leave a mark."

Fayt looked worried. "Did I hurt him badly?"

"Take it easy, kid. These things are always violent. He's been hurt worse. It's not common for someone to break a few bones, but he'll be healed pretty quickly, so don't worry about it."

A boy around Fayt's age with tousled brown hair raced over to the group wearing a soccer uniform. "Hey, guys. Sorry I'm late. Mom made me join a soccer team last night to punish me for being out all night with Mitch. She thinks I'm spending too much time making out and not enough time getting in exercise."

Albel scowled. "You'll get plenty of exercise. It's a practice day for the competition."

"Awesome," the boy said breathlessly. "Who do I get paired against?"

Albel jabbed a finger at Curtis. "Aren't you and Brendan around the same level?"

Curtis snorted in disdain. "Brendan's too predictable."

"Okay, Fayt will face Brendan, since he's so predictable," Albel said sarcastically. 'Then if he wins, you'll have to fight him."

"Good for you," Curtis said sulkily.

Albel settled down with a clipboard and began to fill out the skill level hierarchy as each match went on. It was nearly four when Albel decided to call it a day. "Okay, according to what we have so far…Norton is still last place, then Brendan, then Curtis. We still have to see about Fayt, Vox, and Cliff. But we'll do that tomorrow. It's not fair to Fayt to fight everybody all in one day. So tomorrow, he'll start with Cliff, then Vox."

"Not bad, not bad," Cliff said proudly, clapping Fayt on the shoulder. "You've come pretty far. I'll see ya tomorrow, kid. I'll be looking forward to it."

The gang slowly separated and Albel casually threw his trench coat over his shoulder. "You're doing pretty well, Fayt. I think I'll have you represent me in the competition"

"What? But I'm not even in your gang."

Albel shrugged. "Doesn't matter. You're the only one I'd trust to take my place and not blow our chances. I can't do it this year since dad wants to start training me to be a hunter."

Fayt was horrified. "Oh no."

"It's okay, Fayt. I won't be training forever. Just this week." Albel indicated a silvery cross patched onto the back of his trench coat and a second knife with a silver casing hooked onto his belt. "Once I'm trained, I can go into practice for a few hours a week and quit my old job."

Fayt felt his eyes filling with tears. "How could you? You're going to break your promise!"

Albel was confused. "What promise?"

"You said you wouldn't kill anyone," Fayt accused. "But then you're going to go and kill energy vampires."

"No I won't," Albel said softly. "I'll just keep them for observation. I don't want to kill anybody, and I've always wished I was a vampire myself."

Fayt scoffed. "You don't want that. Then your dad will kill you."

Albel looked puzzled. "No he won't."

Fayt rolled his eyes. "Of course, the hunter makes exceptions for his own son."

"It's nothing like that, Fayt. I didn't wish to be an energy vampire, just the normal kind."

"Oh," Fayt said, sounding disappointed.

Albel cocked his head to one side. "Any reason you feel so strongly about this subject?"

"My dad was killed by hunters," Fayt said quietly. "He wasn't even really a vampire hunter, but they shot first and didn't bother finding out anything."

Abel nodded solemnly. "Vampires are misunderstood creatures. I won't kill them if you don't want me to, Fayt. I'll just keep them from endangering the city. And I promise to be sure that it's true before I actually take them away."

Fayt nodded solemnly. "That's all I want."

"Now, since your dad is dead, you don't have any parents, do you?"

Fayt shook his head. "My dad is dead and my mother left us, fearing the association of a vampire."

"So you don't have anywhere to live either, do you?"

"No, I'm afraid to go back. They might try to kill me, just like they killed my father."

"Well, the logical choice to me seems to be for you to stay at my house. How does that sound?" He turned to Fayt, but the boy was already running towards the forest.

"Hey, Fayt!" Albel shouted. "Where are you going?"

"I'm sorry, I can't stay!" Fayt shouted back. "You'll understand some day."

Albel shrugged with a heavy sigh. "One day I'll understand that kid. He's a little too mysterious for my taste."


	8. Propositions

A/N: Yeah...updates are going to be slower over the next few weeks…I'm starting school and homework is slowing me down. But if I can weasel out of AP Spanish, then I'll probably be able to update on schedule again…I'm writing a lot during school hours, but time at home to type is scarce.

Disclaimer: If I really owned Star Ocean….if I really did, I would make this the basic storyline and then there would be a lot of…affection between Albel and Fayt. XD

Fayt spent most of the next few days with Albel's gang. Slowly but surely, the fear of being found out was fading. Fayt began allowing himself to relax and be part of the group. But at the end of the day, Fayt walked home alone. He couldn't handle the stress of being near Albel's dad. However, Albel always left the invitation open.

The constant exertion was beginning to wear on Fayt. He had been so used to inactivity and feeding once a week. But because of all the challenging training, Fayt needed more nourishment to sustain him. He needed to feed every night, which also cut don on his sleep, so soon he was both starving and exhausted. He just couldn't keep up.

Fayt realized that Albel had noticed his rapidly deteriorating health and was beginning to get concerned. But before Albel could act, Fayt abandoned the gang for a day and slept for twelve hours straight in the cool forest. At night he went hunting and as soon as the sun came up the next morning, he went and waited in his usual spot.

Fayt noticed a rather worried looking Albel walking towards him and he stood up to greet him. Albel stopped and looked at Fayt anxiously. "Where were you yesterday? I couldn't find you anywhere."

Fayt shrugged. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you I wasn't going to be there. I fell asleep."

Albel's worried look intensified. "I've been working you too hard."

Fayt sighed. "It's not your fault. I'm just not in very good shape."

"I know." Albel's eyes swept over Fayt's body. "You're so skinny. Are you eating enough? I know you don't have a place to stay or anybody to cook for you. I don't want you starving to death. If you don't have anything to eat, you're always welcome to stay at my house."

Fayt's eyes widened in horror. "If I start staying at your house, I'll never be able to get out."

Albel snorted. "Honestly, Fayt, I think you're a little paranoid. Dad's not going to chain you up in the basement or anything. Even if you decide to live at my place permanently, you're still allowed out of the house. Heck, if I'm allowed to run free, you certainly can."

Fayt smiled tentatively. "Thanks, Albel. I'll think about it. But right now, I couldn't ask your parents to take car of me. I'd be too much of a burden. They've been kind enough already to let me stay for a night and I couldn't ask for more. But I might come over and visit every once in awhile."

Albel cocked his head to one side. "You are priceless, Fayt, absolutely priceless. Where did you learn to be so adorably polite?"

Fayt blushed. "I'm nothing special."

Albel smirked. "Oh yes you are. You're still so innocent, so selfless. Life is all about sex and doing what feels good to you. But here you are concerned about inconveniencing my parents. My dad doesn't even like you and you're still concerned about him! Who taught you to be like that?"

Fayt shrugged. "No one taught me. I don't know much about how society works because I haven't really been livening in it. I haven't been a part of anything since my dad died. I've learned to be inoffensive and inconspicuous so I don't end up like him."

Albel's expression softened. "You're not going to die, Fayt. Or at least not for awhile. I'll protect you. No one is going to kill you unless they kill me first."

Fayt desperately clutched at Albel's hand. "Don't do that. I couldn't bear having someone else I care about die."

"I know," Albel said soothingly. "I know you'd feel guilty if I died protecting you and you'd think it was all your fault. Hopefully, it'll never happen. But don't let it affect you like it did me. I never actually had anyone die for me, but my dad almost did and it affected me almost the same way."

Fayt gasped. "Really? What happened?"

Albel sighed. "When I was six, our house burned down. I was trapped under debris and my father had to go back into the fire to save me. My right arm was almost completely burnt off and my dad nearly died from smoke inhalation and third degree burns over most of his body."

Fayt looked surprised. "Really? You'd never be able to tell."

Albel nodded and held out his hand at arm's length to examine. "One of the wonders of modern science: plastic surgery. You can't see the scars anymore, but they're still there, just on the inside."

Albel dropped his outrsteched arm and a faraway look came into his eyes. "I never wanted to be a vampire hunter. I'm not cut out for it. I'd rather be a gang leader all my life. But I'm indebted to my dad and he wants me to take over his job. I hate his guts, but I can't say no. I'm enslaved by guilt."

Fayt looked down at the ground. "That's why it's better not to get so emotionally attached."

Albel shook his head vehemently. "No, Fayt. Don't you ever make that mistake. Love is a part of life. You win some and you lose some, but there should always be people you care about that care about you."

Fayt blinked and a painful feeling prickled at the back of his throat. "Nobody cares about me," Fayt said bitterly. "Not even my parents ever loved me. It's useless. I care too much and nobody returns it."

"Don't give me that," Albel growled. "I care about you-a lot. More than just as a friend. I don't know what it is about you, but you're important to me, even though I barely know you."

Fayt's felt intense terror as Albel pulled him closer, into an embrace. He pushed weakly at Albel, trying to push him away. "No, you can't want me. I'm not…ordinary."

"Of course not," Albel said calmly, burying his face against Fayt's shoulder. "You're extraordinary. Why should I settle for anything less?"

"You don't understand," Fayt wailed. "I'm not normal."

"No," Albel agreed. "No you're not. But that's what's so great about you. Why should I date someone just like everyone else?"

Fayt whimpered. "Please, you can't do this. Both of use will end up hurt."

Albel sighed. "You need love much more than I do, but I can't help you unless you're willing to trust me."

Fayt sighed as Albel pulled away and settled back against the tree. "It's not that I don't trust you. It's not that I don't like you. It I dated anyone, it would be you. But I'm just not ready."

Albel shrugged. "I'm not going to force you. It won't hurt my feelings."

Fayt sighed with relief and flopped down on the ground. "Still friends?"

"Always."


	9. Numb to the Pain

A/N: There will probably only be a few more chapters of this….maybe 3. Depending on how long they are, how I choose to divide them, etc. But yeah…it's getting towards the end of the story…at least in the last half…maybe last quarter. XDD Now it's starting to sound like a football game….XD

Disclaimer: I'm still here, still working on this thing, still not owning it.

Despite everything that Albel had said, Fayt knew he was not okay. Albel was extremely lonely. Well, Fayt was extremely lonely too, but it just wouldn't work out for them to e together. Fayt knew that. He had finally understood and accepted what his dad had told him. He was destined to be lonely. It was part of his curse.

But that didn't stop Fayt from having any feelings for Albel. It didn't stop him from feeling a pang of guilt whenever he saw Albel sitting all by himself in the middle of the park, mournfully staring at nothing. Fayt knew it was his fault, but he couldn't do anything about it. He wanted to be with Albel, but he couldn't.

After a few weeks, Albel began to search for some other companionship. He would always love Fayt, but he just couldn't go on by himself forever. Fayt knew he should be happy when he saw Albel sitting on a bench, watching with vague interest as certain men walked by him. He knew he should be happy that Albel was finally moving on, but he felt jealous. Just because he couldn't be with Albel didn't mean he wanted someone else to be with Albel. He loved Albel and Albel loved him back, but Albel couldn't function without some kind of romantic interest. Fayt knew this. He and the rest of the gang had watched Albel deteriorate into a depressed, moody being right before their eyes.

Fayt could no longer stand hanging out with Albel's gang. He couldn't bear the sad, longing looks Albel would throw him from across the room. Everyone understood. If Fayt left, perhaps Albel could finally move on.

Fayt sighed to himself, once again settled into his favorite spot under the old tree. "I told him it would just end up hurting us both if he got too close. He didn't listen. Well, one day I hope he finds someone that'll be right for him."

Fayt was back on his old schedule, sleeping during the day and hunting at night. He felt dirty and inadequate, all because of the pain he had caused Albel because of what he was. He had to punish himself, limiting himself to feeding every two days so he would be kept awake by the growling of his stomach. He needed to be much more miserable than that though. He settled in for a restless day of sleep, vowing to himself that the next day, he would find something painful, maybe a sharp rock to sleep on or a pointed stick to scrape his skin raw.

That night, Fayt went into town to feed. He stopped outside the window of a teenage girl to listen if she was really asleep. It had almost seemed so when her mother came into the room and the girl and her mother began a long loud shouting match over the evils of energy vampires, each with their own idea of what chaos the vampires caused.

Fayt turned away from the house sadly, in no mood to feed. They were right. He was a terrible monster. He was cruel, he was vicious, and he had the potential to kill. He deserved to die.

Fayt slowly walked back towards the forest, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. He lowered his head onto his chest so all he could see were his own feet as he trudged along. He was unworthy of looking up.

But Fayt's punishment was a bad idea because he couldn't see where he was going and he bumped into someone.

"Watch where you're going, idiot," a familiar voice growled.

Fayt looked up, horror-struck to see Albel standing there in front of him. Cliff looked equally horrified. Oh no, just when he thought he had finally gotten away from Albel, he had found him again.

Albel's irritated expression softened into shock. "Fayt, what on earth are you doing out here? You just disappeared on us. Why'd you go?"

Fayt looked around nervously. "Err…I don't have time to talk. I have to leave-"

Albel grabbed onto his arm. "You are not getting away from me so easily."

Cliff tried to intervene. "Albel, the kid's got stuff he has to do. Come on, just let him-"

"Butt out!" Albel snarled. "Now, leave me alone. Fayt and I have some things to discuss."

Cliff shrugged apologetically and gave Fayt a look that said, "Well, I tried" before edging away.

Albel shoved Fayt up against a tree and glared at him. "What's the big idea with you running off like that?"

"I'm sorry," Fayt whimpered, trying to squirm away. "I thought you'd be happier if I left."

"Happier? Why should I be happier?" Albel demanded. "You know I'm crazy about you, Fayt. I couldn't stand not having you around."

"I didn't think you could stand having me around," Fayt said quietly. "I saw how much it tortured you, knowing I said no. You wanted me so bad, but you couldn't have me…so I though I'd remove the temptation."

Albel let out a long, unhappy sigh and released Fayt. "I know…I would love to date you. It kills me that I can't. Bu it kills me even more when you're not there. I still have a chance when you're around, but if you're gone, I have no hope left."

Hearing the sadness in Albel's voice, Fayt latched onto him, burying his face in Albel's shirt. "Oh god, I've hurt you even worse. I knew this was a mistake. I can't get close to anyone. Why do these things always happen?"

Albel gently pried Fayt off of him. "You'll stop hurting me if you go out with me. And I promise not to kiss you, at least, not until you're ready."

Fayt sighed. "Alright. I'll do it."

Albel raised an eyebrow. "I'm not twisting your arm or anything. If you don't want to date me, I'll eventually find someone else."

"No! I mean…no, I'll date you. I'm fine with it."

Albel looked amused. "Jealous, Fayt?"

Fayt frowned. "I thought you would have already had another boyfriend by now."

Albel shrugged. "I could have. I know plenty of people willing to date me. In our society, true love doesn't matter. You don't usually wait this long for people. If they don't want you, find someone out there that does. There are plenty of warm, breathing bodies in the world. But I don't just want a body, I want you."

Fayt turned pink. "Stop it. I already told you I'm not special."

Albel embraced Fayt and kissed his cheek. "I already told you that you were."

Now Fayt was bright red. "Albel," he whined. "Stop doing that. You're making me feel all…awkward."

Albel smirked. "Come on, Fayt. I need to get you back to civilization. You need a ice hot shower to get those pine needles off you and then you can spend the night in a nice soft bed. And in the morning I'll get you something nice to eat. You look starved."

"Albel, you're spoiling me," Fayt grumbled.

Albel smiled. "I'm supposed to. You're my boyfriend now."


	10. Can't get away

A/N: Muahaha…the time has finally come for Albel to be violent again…it was fun to write him as a nice guy for awhile, but even nice Albel has his snapping point.

Disclaimer: If I really owned Star Ocean, I would be rich by now.

Fayt felt the gang's eyes on him as Albel dragged him into the garage by his wrist. They gave him a suspicious look that made Fayt want to immediately run out of there. They clearly blamed him for breaking Albel's heart and no longer welcomed him.

Albel scowled at Fayt as he tried to pull away from him and bolt for the door. "Come on, you can do it. I know after being gone for so long, it's hard to get back. But you have to do it sometime and now is better than later."

"No," Fayt whimpered. "I can't-they don't like me."

Albel looked puzzled until he saw the hostile expressions on the faces watching Fayt, murdering him with their eyes.

Albel exploded. "What on earth are you doing?" he raged. "You know how skittish Fayt is! I don't care how long he's been away, you're letting him back in! What is wrong with you heartless idiots anyway?"

With a resentful muttered, everyone eventually backed down and Fayt meekly entered the room. He sat down in the corner as far from anyone as he could.

Albel frowned at Fayt from across the room. "Come over here, Fayt."

Fayt nervously got to his feet and pushed through the group to get to Albel. Albel patted a seat on the couch next to him and Fayt reluctantly sat down, anxiously watching everyone else's reaction. Albel put his arm around Fayt's shoulder and Fayt cautiously leaned against Albel.

The room was silent, everyone staring at Albel and Fayt with confusion. Hadn't Fayt told Albel he didn't like him? Wasn't the point to keep them separated?

Albel frowned. "Come on guys, liven up. You look dead. Am I having all the fun? Do I need to make it Sub Day again?

Fayt yelped as he was nearly trampled by the ensuing stampede to the phone. Albel pulled Fayt over to his side of the couch and held him close as people leaped over the couch and began shoving each other out of the way.

"What's going on?" Fayt asked fearfully.

"Nothing to worry about," Albel assured him. "I just cancelled our meeting and made it a free day. It was only fair if my boyfriend's over here, they get to bring theirs along, but if all their subs are over here, they won't concentrate on the meeting, so I just made it Sub Day. All they do is hang out over here."

"Interesting," Fayt muttered weakly. "Err…can you let go now? You're squishing me into the cushion."

"Oh. Ooops."

The doorbell rang a second later and Curtis jumped up to answer it. "Vox, it's for you!" he shouted.

"Oh good, Woltar's here," Vox said happily.

"Newp. Guess again."

Vox scowled. "Sophia?"

"Yup."

"What the…she's Albel's niece, not mine."

"Sorry, dude. She says she's over here to see you."

Vox grumbled under his breath at the injustice of the world. Just then a small knock sounded on the side door. Vox jumped up to answer it and smiled with relief when Woltar walked in, ducking in the small doorway. "Thank god you're here," he muttered.

"Vox!" Curtis shouted. 'She's not going away!"

"Oh for the love of god!" Vox fumed, throwing open the door. "What do you want-oh my." His jaw dropped.

Sophia grinned at him, looking down at the pink evening dress she was wearing. "Hi, Vox. I just came by to say hi to you and Uncle Albel."

Albel bristled and muttered something to Fayt about feeling too old for this.

Fayt snuggled up closer to Albel. "You have a sibling?" he whispered.

"Yeah, but Togusa died a while ago. She could have been my sister but she has to keep calling me uncle even though she knows I hate it!"

"Vox, are you busy?" Sophia asked innocently.

"Of course not," Vox said quickly. "I always have time for a cute girl like you."

Sophia giggled happily and Woltar frowned. "Vox," he growled warningly.

Vox turned to look at him. "Isn't she though? Doesn't she make you think of your adorable little sister? So cute and young?"

Sophia bristled. "Scumbag!" she shrieked, smacking Vox with her purse before rushing out of the room.

Woltar chuckled. "Wow, that was unexpected."

"What, you thought I was seriously interested in her?"

"It wouldn't be the first time," Woltar muttered. "You cheat on me all the time."

"What! Who told you that-I mean, no I don't!"

Albel sighed. "Come on, Fayt. Let's go some place quieter. I'm going to the park. Go grab my backpack from my room. It has everything we'll need to be away from all the nutcases for awhile."

Fayt nodded happily and brushed past everyone draped over all the furniture. He stopped when Norton grabbed onto his ankle and then crouched in front of Fayt. "I know what you're doing," he hissed. "You're going out with Albel only because you're sorry for him, or maybe you're not sorry at all and you're going to dump him later and hurt him any more. Well, I won't let that happen." He drew out a sharp knife with a sinister smile.

Before Fayt even had time to scream, Albel tackled Norton. "What do you think you're doing?" he roared. "Idiot! Worse than an idiot! You don't deserve to live! No one hurts Fayt while I'm around."

It took both Cliff and Vox to pin Albel down and pry him off Norton. Norton was battered and bruised, but nobody gave him any sympathy. He looked furtively around the room and crept on into a corner to hide.

"I can't believe he would so something so stupid," Albel muttered angrily. "What kind of a beast is he?"

"It's okay, it's okay," Fayt reassured him. "I'm not hurt."

"I know." Albel eyed Fayt. "If he had hurt you, I wouldn't have left him alive."

Fayt paled. "You don't need to kill anyone that hurts me."

Albel shrugged. "I know. I don't know what came over me. I would have killed him anyway if those guys hadn't stopped me." He looked around the room with vague interest. "Where'd the slimy little coward go anyway?"

"Uhh…it doesn't matter, Albel. Come on, let's forget about him. Let's go spend some time in the park." Fayt gently pushed Albel towards the door.

Albel sighed. "You're right, Fayt. Let's go. I need to cool off."


	11. Discovery

A/N: yeah…I haven't been updating lately as much as I should or would like to. I'm in school and working…and I'm also incredibly lazy. A lot of times I would rather be playing Harvest Moon: Magical Melody than writing fanfiction…but at least I'm almost done with this thing and then I can slack off for awhile. XD

Disclaimer: I do not own Albel and Fayt. What? Were you expecting some sort of witty statement?

Fayt settled into the long grass. Albel lay down next to him, sighing contentedly. Fayt would have rather spent a day in the city because he rarely got away from the park, but Albel's life was so hectic that he needed a little peace and quiet and the park seemed like the perfect spot to relax.

"It's so still," Albel whispered, sitting up and looking around with delight written on his face. "No one's here except us."

"It's nice," Fayt agreed. "I'm with you so I'm not alone."

"And I'm not surrounded by a swarm of idiots," Albel muttered, flopping back into the grass. "People are overrated."

"But it's hard to survive without anyone," Fayt whispered. "I get so lonely. I use to watch people walk by with their friends, wishing I could be with them, wishing I could have friends."

Albel pulled Fayt closer. "I don't mean everyone is worthless. It's good to have friends. But you shouldn't let them take over your life. I'm a slave to my friends and family. I barely have time to myself to think. I'm either looking after my gang or out vampire hunting. It's insane how busy I am. I'm glad I took the day off."

Fayt's heart caught in his throat. "Uh, have you caught any vampires yet?"

Albel smiled. "Not yet. My equipment's malfunctioning. I don't mind. It gives me more free time."

Fayt looked puzzled. "What's wrong with it?" he asked cautiously.

Albel shrugged. "I have no idea. Dad doesn't even know. It just says that I'm constantly covered with vampire dust."

Fayt wrinkled up his nose. "Vampire dust?"

Albel laughed. "Yeah, I know it sounds silly, but that's what they call it. There's a machine that tracks if a person has come in contact with vampires. Everyone leaves behind bits of skin and hair when they touch something and it'll tell if the person that touched it was a vampire. It's kind of cool. Dad just gave it to me and I tried it out on me just for fun and it said I was covered with dust, like everyone I've ever met is a vampire. Dad took all my equipment to a repair shop just in case the rest of it is messed up to. So it looks like I'm out of work for awhile." Albel grinned. "Lucky me."

Fayt sighed in relief and snuggled up against Albel. "You're weird. You shouldn't be stuck with a job you hate."

Albel gave Fayt a long searching look. "I'm not much different than you. You hate to be alone, but you're afraid of getting close to anyone."

Fayt whimpered as Albel pulled him into a tight embrace. Fayt felt all his control slipping away as Albel's lips brushed against his cheekbone. "No one should be alone," Albel whispered, nibbling on Fayt's ear.

Fayt shivered with pleasure and snuggled further into Albel's arms. He panted heavily, his face flushed and his eyes clouded with lust. Albel's hands ran through Fayt's hair and then pulled at Fayt's collar, trying to unbutton his shirt.

Fayt sighed contentedly and his eyes fluttered shut. Albel's breath felt warm against his skin. He tilted his head back as Albel rubbed a finger against his collarbone. Fayt squirmed as Albel bit down on the junction of his neck and the tender skin under his chin.

Fayt suddenly understood where this was going. He jerked away with a yelp and scrambled on top of a nearby park bench. "You promised," he hissed, pointing an accusing finger at Albel. "You promised not to kiss me."

Albel sighed and held out his hand to help Fayt jump back down. "Fayt, I love you. You can trust me."

Fayt scowled and allowed Albel to pull him off the bench. "If you really love me, you'll give the names of ten horrible girls so I can kiss them."

Albel frowned. "You like girls?" His forehead creased in thought as he took in all of Fayt's words. "Wait…no you don't."

Albel gave Fayt a sad look. "Your idea of kissing is pretty messed up. Kissing is not a punishment. I understand now why you're so averse to it and why you reacted so strongly when I said anything about. It's unfortunate. Maybe your parents taught you kissing was terrible so you would never get in a situation with a vampire. But you have to start trusting me or people will think YOU are a vampire."

Fayt froze in shock. Was he really being that obvious?

Albel seized the opportunity to grab Fayt while he was distracted.

Fayt gasped as he felt Albel's lips against his. His eyes widened in horror. He cried out and struggled against Albel, but Albel hung on tightly. Fayt could feel the energy seeping out of Albel's body and he fought Albel's embrace desperately.

The light in Albel's eyes began to dim and his hold began to weaken. Fayt pushed out of Albel's arms and scrambled away from him.

Albel staggered over to a fence post and leaned against it for support. He stared at Fayt with vacant, half-lidded eyes. "You lied to me," he stated calmly, his voice barely a whisper.

Fayt chewed his bottom lip. "I didn't exactly lie, but I didn't tell you the whole truth either. I don't know what I was thinking, that we could have a relationship without you finding out. I was so afraid you'd find out, but I went out with you anyway. I'm sorry."

Albel blinked, his eyes losing their drugged look. "I should have listened to my father and never trusted you," he hissed bitterly.

Fayt sighed and settled back into his spot on the ground, absently pulling up blades of grass. "And I should have listened to my father and stayed away from everyone. Then I would have died when I was 12."

Albel scowled. "Why would you have died? You survived just fine before I met you."

Fayt shook his head. "I had to kiss somebody," he said in a low voice. "I wish it wasn't true, but that's the only way I can survive. I never wanted to have to do it to anyone."

Albel frowned and crossed his arms over his chest, becoming slightly unbalanced. "Are you trying to tell me you don't like sucking the life out of people? Bah, your kind are all alike."

"Yes, I expect most of them to be like me," Fayt said thoughtfully. "They're hiding out somewhere, afraid of being found out. They have to feed to survive, but they hate themselves everyday for making that selfish choice. They would give anything to be normal, to not have to hide."

"They're not going to hide. They have power to kill people," Albel said gruffly.

Fayt smiled sadly. "We rarely kill. Most of us don't want our power. There are some who like that power, but they are the loneliest people. They draw attention to themselves with their brutality, so they're always being shot at, always being chased. That's not the kind of life anyone wants. I don't try to kill, but I'm always afraid I might. That's why I rarely touch anyone. I don't want to take that chance."

Fayt swallowed hard and looked at the ground. "I never even contemplated kissing you," he whispered. "It would have been too risky. You'll recover. You're lucky I didn't kill you, considering how much I took from you, but I can't bear the thought you almost died. I give up, Albel. I'm tired of hiding. I'm tired of hurting everyone I care about. Go ahead and kill me. I deserve to die. I can't live with myself anymore."

Albel was silent for a moment and he gave Fayt a puzzled frown. "Why would I kill you?"

"Albel, I'm a vampire! I almost killed you. Don't you hate me?"

"I don't hate you. I just can't believe you didn't tell me."

"Tell you?" Fayt asked incredulously. "You're a vampire hunter; your dad's a vampire hunter….and look how you just reacted! That would be suicide!"

Albel sighed. "I wouldn't have killed you if you had told me. If you had, this wouldn't have happened."

Fayt smirked. "I told you not to kiss me. What part of 'no' didn't you understand?"

Albel let out an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes. "Fine, Fayt. It's my fault. I brought this on myself. I can't do anything right."

"Don't be like that, Albel. You didn't know. I'm sorry, alright? I was afraid you wouldn't like me if you knew who I was and I wanted to hang onto our pretend relationship for as long as possible."

Albel held Fayt close. "It's okay. I still love you. I won't break up with you. I'm certainly not going to try kissing you again, but nothing else will change."

"It won't be the same," Fayt said mournfully. "You'll pretend to still like me, but you'll be afraid to be close to me."

"Oh hush," Albel said irritably. "Look at me. I've recovered, just like you said. It's like nothing ever happened."

Fayt sighed. 'That's not the point. I could have killed you."

"Well, regardless of what you think, you saved my life. It would have been my own fault if I died because I kissed you."

"I'm not a good person," Fayt growled. "I lied to you."

"Yes, let's talk about that. Did you lie about your parents being gone?"

"No, my mom left when she found out I'm a vampire and my dad was killed because he helped me escape vampire hunters."

Albel bristled. "Who did it? I'd like to kill that slimy coward."

Fayt looked at Albel mildly. "Your father shot my dad."

Albel scowled. "It figures," he muttered, kicking savagely at a rock. "I hate him!" he growled.

"Calm down," Fayt said soothingly.

"No, I won't calm down," Albel snarled. "My dad screwed up your life and I'm going to do something to fix it. From now on, I want you to only kiss me."

Fayt looked horrified. "No! I could kill you!"

Albel raised an eyebrow. "You won't kill me, but you're okay with killing someone else?"

"That's not what I meant. If I feed off several people, there's less chance of killing them. But if I only use you, I'll have to take a lot out of you."

"Well, you'll just have to kiss me several times a day," Albel said cheerfully, taking Fayt's hand. "Come on, let's go have fun."


	12. We need a plan

A/N: Yes, I'm finally back to working on this thing after a hiatus of about…a year. XD Well, maybe not that long. But anyway…hopefully, I can keep going with this and balance working on both Death by Desire and this story at the same time. Or else….this might have to be the last chapter before another huge hiatus. I hope not.

Disclaimer: Nothing do I own, nothing will I gain. XD

Fayt had soon settled back into the gang routine. Albel had adamantly refused to let Fayt sleep outside in the forest, despite Fayt's protests that he couldn't live at Albel's house because his dad would find out. Albel did his best to hide everything from his dad, locking his door or leaving the house to kiss Fayt. But that in itself made his father suspicious because normally, no one was hesitant to show affection in public. So, Glou Nox was determined to find out what his son was up to.

He waited until Albel and Fayt had both gone into Albel's room and locked the door. He waited a little longer until he was sure they were doing something and then he knocked on the door. "Albel?"

"Aargh, it's my dad," Albel muttered irritably. "Hold on, Fayt. I'll be right back. Lemme go see what he wants."

Glou heard the sound of footsteps and Albel jerked open the door scowling. "Alright, what do you want?" he snapped.

Glou examined Albel's unkempt hair and the tired look on his face. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"Yes you are," Albel growled, pushing at his father weakly. "Go away."

"What are you two doing in there?"

"None of your business. Go away!"

Glou smiled absently. "I thought you told me no one would ever dominate you, that you'd always be the one on top."

Albel started with surprise and then his eyes narrowed with rage. "No one ever will! Thi isn't-it's not what you think. Bah, just get lost!" Albel slammed the door in his father face.

Fayt giggled from inside the room. "Oh, shut up, Fayt," Albel said with a frustrated sigh.

Glou frowned thoughtfully as he walked away from the room. "Albel's letting that shy, quiet, meek little thing turn him into an uke? I know Albel is very fond of him, and would do almost anything for him, but it's not in his nature to compromise his beliefs. Hmn, this bears further investigation."

Albel cautiously opened the door and looked out down the hallway. Fayt was close behind him, trying to peer around Albel. "Is he gone now?" Fayt whispered.

"Yeah," Albel muttered darkly. "Come on, let's go run down to the clubhouse. I think we need an emergency gang meeting today."

Fayt clutched at Albel's arm. 'But we can't tell everyone else about what's going on between us."

Albel sighed. "I won't tell them everything. I'll just tell them…that my dad wants me to quit the gang or something. Just something so that they'll be against him. We want to get them on our side, doing everything they can to sabotage my dad's plots."

Fayt shuddered. "He's going to take a blood sample from me, isn't he?"

Albel wrapped an arm around Fayt's waist. 'Of course not. Nothing will happen to you while I'm around. Now, come on. Let's go."

Fayt settled in next to Albel comfortably on the couch, waiting for more people to show up. Curtis and Cliff were already there, but no one else had arrived so far. Cliff was busy pacing up and down the garage floor shouting angrily about how cruel Albel's father was and Curtis was yelling at him to keep it down or Mr. Nox would hear him.

Albel rolled his eyes. "Do any of you useless idiots have an idea of what to do to keep my dad off my back? I desperately need free time. He's after me constantly about working and I don't have time for much else. I may have to quit the gang at this rate and make someone else the leader."

Curtis gasped. "But you can't quit! You're the leader. And if you leave…Vox will probably take over! That'd be terrible!"

Cliff snorted. "It would only be terrible for you because Vox'd force you to date Sophia to get her out of his hair."

Curtis gagged. "I hate girls. I'm allergic to them."

"Afraid of them is more likely."

"Hey!"

"Cut it out," Albel growled. "We need a plan. We need as many people as we can to think of ways to keep my dad occupied for awhile."

Curtis calmed down. "I know of a way we can get a lot of people to help us think. We need to hold another Open Information Day."

"Good idea!" Albel exclaimed. He smirked. 'For once you're actually useful."

"Hey!' Curtis protested.

"What's Open Information Day?" Fayt asked meekly.

"Oh, it's just a day where we invite people to come find out about our gang and to visit us. We'll probably get plenty of people interested in joining, and maybe some that are just curious about what we do. Either way, we'll have a lot of people in here. And the more people we have, the easier it'll be for us to think up a plan."

Cliff smacked his fists together. 'What we really need to do is have a bunch of sneak around and play tricks on him, ya know? Like…steal his equipment, lock him in his room, put gum in his shoes."

Albel frowned. "Nice try, Cliff. But my dad will probably blame me because only Fayt and I live here. And no one would ever suspect Fayt of anything."

Fayt smiled. "Then maybe what we need is for me to do something unexpected."

Albel kissed his cheek. "We'll see. I still think holding an Open Info Day is a good idea. We'll see if we can do it this Friday. Today's only Monday. There's plenty of time. In the meantime, I think Fayt and I should run away from home for awhile." He smiled playfully at Fayt.


	13. Open up

A/N: Heh, finally getting back into writing this. I've had the idea for quite awhile, but I've just been too lazy to type it out and put it in story form. Oh well, it's here now.

Disclaimer: Once again, I am not nor will ever be the creator of Star Ocean.

Fayt found Open Information Day to be a very curious event. The garage was not used because of the sheer numbers of people that showed up, and the fact that Albel was avoiding his father. For the whole week leading up to the day, Albel and Fayt had spent the night at several different houses, before finally spending the night in the park the night before to make sure all the preparations were done.

Several young men eager to become new recruits were gathered to sign up and find out more. Members from the submissive gang were also there to watch and look for a new date or to encourage their dominant boyfriend to join Albel's gang. And then again, there were a few girls who just wanted to see some man on man kissing.

Albel seemed pleased with most of the recruits. He talked to as many as he could, gave them a paper with information on it, directions to Albel's house, the phone numbers of some of the other gang members, meeting times if they would care to stop by and observe a meeting. Most of them talked with Albel for only a few minutes, took the paper with a promise to come check it out, and left.

The whole interview process was going well until the sky darkened and it began to lightly sprinkle rain. Albel scowled darkly. "Stupid rain. Okay, let's take this inside. Everybody, let's head back to the garage."

Albel's gang and a few prospective recruits headed back to Albel's house after he had left a note taped to the sign-up table letting anyone else who showed up know where the gang would be.

The group gathered into the garage, still comfortably spacious even with the extra five or so people. Fayt settled comfortably onto the couch, practically sitting in Albel's lap. Albel continued to hand out papers and talk to as many people as he could, while trying not to dislodge Fayt. Normally, Fayt would have moved so Albel could operate efficiently, but Albel seemed relaxed and he was gently running his fingers through Fayt's hair. Most of the boys smiled at this gesture of affection.

Suddenly the door was kicked open loudly and a tough looking man entered. "is there where the gang from the park is meeting?" he demanded hotly.

Albel slowly eased out from under Fayt and stood up. "Why, yes it is," he drawled.

The man stepped forward and snatched up a piece of paper from the table, scanning it quickly. He snorted. "Not enough fighting and too much time wasted on talking."

Albel regarded him lazily through half-lidded eyes. "Well, if you want to compete in our tournament, you may do so. There's plenty of fighting in that."

"Hmph," the man muttered, stalking over to a table to grab a slice of pizza.

Albel flopped back down on the couch and Fayt quickly snuggled back up against him.

The man paused midway to a seat with his slice of pizza and scowled at Albel in disgust. "Oh, so that's it."

Albel tipped his head to one side. "What?"

"You're one of-" The man gesticulated wildly, his scowl deepening.

Albel sighed again. "What is it, sir?"

"You're one of those," the man sneered. "No fighting, what kind of man are you? Jus sit around all day and talk. No wonder you're so skinny. Without exercise, you can't get muscles."

Albel frowned. "What exactly are you implying? Just because I'm skinny doesn't make me any less of a man."

The man snorted. "You know what I mean. You're a faerie."

Fayt clutched at Albel worriedly, expecting him to fly into a rage and beat the man senseless. However, Albel continued to gaze at him calmly. "I assure you, I'm not a faerie. I won't blow away in the wind. I'm just as real as you are."

"You're still one of those kinds. No much of a man yourself, so you go and pretend to be a girl."

Albel laughed, still seeming perfectly calm and polite. But Fayt knew it was all a façade. Albel was never this polite even with those he liked. When Albel seemed to be the most calm and reasonable, that was when he was the most dangerous.

"Let me tell you something," Albel said sweetly. "Excuse me, Fayt." He wiggled a short distance away from Fayt and gestured for the man to sit beside him. 'Let me tell you a secret," Albel whispered, inviting the man to incline his head closer to Albel to hear him better….

"I am not a fucking faerie!" Albel roared loudly in the man's ear.

The noise in the room immediately subsided. It was absolutely silent as several pairs of wide eyes stared in shock at Albel and his opponent.

The man reeled back and clapped both hands over his ears. When he had gotten over his shock, he leaped to his feet, staring down at Albel murderously. "Look what you've done, you despicable girly-man!" he snapped. His lips curled into a savage smile. "Oh yes…look what you've done. You've gone and said a bad word. You know what the punishment for that is, don't you?"

"Yes," Albel said cheerfully. "A swift kick in the balls." He kicked upward, his foot colliding with the man's groin.

With a grunt of surprise, the man toppled to the floor.

Albel smirked. "There, the conventions are settled. Let's get on with our lives."

The man rose painfully to his feet, his face purple with rage. "You kicked me," he snarled. "You have no right-"

"I have every right," Albel interrupted him. "The law says that when a swear word is used, the punishment must be a sift kick in the pants. It didn't say who was to get the swift kick. Besides, I was provoked."

Before the man could argue further, Albel lifted his hand lazily and pointed towards the door. "Faeries, let's get rid of this beast."

Fayt gently kissed Albel's lips. Albel tensed almost imperceptibly and then relaxed. It was a sad fact of life, but kissing Fayt would always make Albel slightly nervous, since he knew what it brought. Fayt used that to his advantage to distract his love.

Fayt pulled away and smiled at Albel softly. It was barely a kiss and took very little out of Label, not even enough to be noticed. Fayt ran his hands over Albel chest. "Calm down," he murmured.

Albel glanced at the doorway as the gang members were busy tossing the man unceremoniously out the door, laughing at his threats to call his lawyer. Albel sighed. "I suppose you're right, Fayt. I shouldn't have acted up. It's just so hard to sit back and let jerks insult my sexuality." He shrugged half-heartedly. "I probably shouldn't have kicked him. Oh well, it's a stupid rule anyway…left over from the days of the empire. We can pretty much do as we want now, but everyone still abides by that rule. No swearing. Buut…everyone completely disregards the old rules about sex before marriage."

Fayt turned bright red. "A-Albel. I-I can't have sex with you. We-we barely know each other."

Albel laughed. "Poor Fayt, sheltered from the sinful world. Everyone does it whenever and wherever they please. You'll learn one day not to be so shy. But in the meantime, let's have something to eat."


	14. Pretend

A/N: God, I haven't worked on this in so long and I know I should have. It's so close to the end…how could I give up now? But really…it's pretty close to the end. I know people have been begging for sex or something more intimate…but that's not in this chapter. It'll get there eventually though.

Disclaimer: I don't own Albel and Fayt…although I wish I did.

Albel and Fayt relaxed on the couch in Albel's garage. Fayt was settled on top of Albel, his head resting on Albel's chest. A ratty old blanket was pulled up around them to keep them warm. It wasn't much, but a garage was generally not the most glamorous place to live in.

"How long do we have to live in here?" Fayt muttered sleepily.

"As long as it takes," Albel growled.

"But shouldn't your dad be looking for us? I mean, he'll find us eventually, right?"

"I don't know if he's even looking for me," Albel growled. "He probably doesn't care."

"Albel, that's so sad. I'm sure he loves you…in his own way."

"Well, if he was looking for us, he ought to have found us by now," Albel said sourly. "He may be a jerk, but he's not an idiot."

Fayt sighed. "I'm the one causing tension between you and your father. If I wasn't here, you two would get along, right?"

"We've never gotten along really well anyway. It's not your fault, Fayt. It's just his fault that he can't accept you. We'll just stay here until we figure out a plan to get far away from here and live together on our own. I can't stand my dad and I can't stand people treating you different. You're not out to kill people."

"I know," Fayt said sadly. "I'll probably never be accepted. It's my curse."

"You will be accepted someday. We may never be able to kiss, but we can still have a normal life."

"But I'm not normal," Fayt sighed. He slid off the couch and sat on the floor, his knees pulled up tightly to his chest. 'I don't live in the same world you live in. I was raised in the old world. It's the only kind of world someone like me could fit in."

"The old days sucked," Albel muttered, settling on the floor next to Fayt. "You had to wait until you were married to have sex. People just didn't date as often as they do now. They went long periods of time without any romantic relationship. I mean, you can still do that now, but it's kind of weird. You can't hang out with your friend and family forever. You have to have a boyfriend sometime."

"Or girlfriend," Fayt muttered.

"That's even worse. If you were a guy, you had a girlfriend. If you were a girl, you had a boyfriend. Don't say that people like you could fit in back in those days. People like us just weren't accepted. We were the vampires back then."

Fayt sighed. "I'm just not comfortable with all this public kissing and sex all over the place without caring who sees."

"You're just a private person, Fayt. That's okay. You're used to hiding. We can be a little more…low-key than the other without looking like we've got something we're ashamed of. You'll get used to being in the middle of society after awhile. You'll realize they're not watching you and trying to find you out. Everyone is too busy with their own life, they're own boyfriend to watch you. As long as we don't kiss, no one will ever know the truth."

"We have to kiss sometime," Fayt gently reminded him.

"We will. We will. We'll just do that in the privacy of our own home. Relax, Fayt. We'll make it. You're the only person I bothered waiting for. Normally, if people aren't interested in me I move on. But I felt that you were interested, somewhere deep inside so I kept after you. It must be love instead of lust."

Fayt looked down. "I half wished you had given up on me. I don't want to slow you down or ruin your outgoing lifestyle with my shyness."

"You aren't ruining anything,' Albel said sternly. "Now, we just have to practice and get your comfortable with public displays of affection. We'll start out with being affectionate in private since there's just the two of us."

Fayt blushed as Albel wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him closer. Albel gently kissed Fayt neck and slowly rubbed Fayt's collar bone. Fayt began to relax and lean his head back against the couch.

"Now, we don't have to ever do this again," Albel said quietly. "But just once…I'd like to pretend," he said wistfully.

"What is it?" Fayt murmured dreamily.

"Kiss me, Fayt."

Fayt quickly became alert. "No, Albel. I'm not hungry right now. Please don't spoil this nice little moment by making me fear I'm going to hurt you."

"You won't hurt me," Albel snapped. "You've been very good about it every time you kiss me. Just enough to feed you and no more. You don't have to kiss me for very long. I just-I just want to pretend that we don't kiss because you need it to survive but because we actually love each other."

Fayt was silent for a long time. "Alright," he said at last, very quietly. "Just a little kiss. I don't want to hurt you."

Albel waited patiently, willing himself to relax and pretend like Fayt was just another boy, like Fayt couldn't drain his life force.

Fayt tentatively cupped his hands under Albel's chin and pulled his face closer. Fayt's lips met Albel's for the briefest second and then Fayt pulled away sheepishly.

Albel rolled his eyes. "You call that a kiss?" he huffed. "I felt nothing."

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt you," Fayt said defensively.

"Okay. That's it. I'll do it now," Albel growled. "I should have known not to let the submissive one be in charge. Nothing gets done that way.'

"Albel, be careful," Fayt said quickly.

"Don't be a worrywart, Fayt. I know my limits. If I start to get weak, I'll stop."

Fayt nodded and sat nervously in his spot, his whole body tense and rigid.

"Relax," Albel whispered in Fayt's ear, causing the boy to shiver.

Albel licked at the shell of Fayt's ear and then trailed kisses down Fayt's jaw. He placed a quick, chaste kiss on Fayt's lips and then continued on to Fayt's throat. He nipped and sucked at Fayt's skin, causing the younger boy to toss his head back, begging for more of Albel's treatment.

Albel hesitated only briefly before gently taking Fayt's bottom lip in his teeth. He tugged at Fayt's lips gently, playfully and then released it.

Fayt was already panting heavily. His face was flushed and his eyes were glazed. His pleasantly swollen lips were parted with desire. Albel watched with amusement as Fayt leaned toward him, whimpering at the lack of contact with Albel.

Albel tugged gently on Fayt's arm and Fayt immediately sagged limply against Albel's chest. Fayt let out a sigh of relief as he snuggled against Albel.

Albel smirked and affectionately rubbed Fayt's back. "We really do love each other, don't we?" he purred.

"Ngh," Fayt murmured, beyond words to express how wonderful he felt.

Albel brought his lips to Fayt's and kissed him first slowly and then more aggressively. He slipped his tongue inside Fayt's willing mouth. Albel's hands were also exploring. Albel slipped his hands under Fayt's shirt and began mapping out Fayt's stomach with his touch.

Fayt finally broke away for air, still panting. "God, that was amazing," Fayt whispered.

Albel smiled sadly. "Yes. It'll be nice when we don't have to pretend."

Fayt eyes widened. "Pretend? That was real. It had to be. All that kissing…wait, how are you still okay after all that? I should have drained you dry."

Albel shrugged. "Honestly, I didn't feel a thing. Maybe it was all the adrenaline, the emotions…whatever. I was probably just caught up in the moment. It'll probably catch up to me later and I'll pass out."

Fayt frowned. "The funny thing is, I didn't feel anything either. Usually I can tell when I'm absorbing energy. Could be both be caught up in the kiss so much that we both missed the signs?"

"I don't know," Albel said cautiously. "It seems almost too good to be true, but I think you might be cured."

Fayt's eyes lit up. "I can't believe it. I'm normal now!"

"I think we should kiss one more time, just to be certain," Albel said slyly.

Fayt flushed. "That sounds like a good idea."


	15. Almost Home Free

A/N: Finally…I may get around to finishing something. I have only about one more chapter planned after this one…hopefully I can fit everything I want into these last two chapters...or the story may have to be longer. But I really want to finish it as soon as possible and not drag out the ending. Wish me luck!

Disclaimer: Don't own…..sadly enough.

Fayt was enjoying himself immensely. After having to live his whole life without kissing, he didn't know what he was missing. But now that Albel had showed him how wonderful it was, Fayt didn't think he'd be able to live without it again.

Fayt was currently pinned down on the couch with Albel straddling his waist. Albel smiled down at Fayt possessively and then leaned forward to kiss him.

Fayt's eyes slid shut in bliss. His lips parted instantly to allow access to Albel's tongue.

Albel smirked. Before they had discovered that kissing was no longer dangerous, Fayt seemed very shy and unwilling to show Albel any affection, although they could do plenty of things besides kissing. But now that Fayt was completely normal, Fayt was willing to try everything.

Fayt slowly opened one hazy green eye and stared at Albel curiously. "Why'd you stop?" he asked softly.

"These clothes are in the way," Albel purred.

Fayt flushed a deep scarlet as Albel began pulling his shirt over his head, but Fayt soon relaxed as Albel ran his hands over Fayt's chest.

Fayt wrapped his arms around Albel and pulled him closer, bringing their lips together for another passionate kiss. Fayt broke away briefly for air before Albel reclaimed his mouth.

Fayt could barely keep his eyes open. It felt good as Albel continued caressing him, gently exploring Fayt's chest and shoulders with his hands while his tongue explored Fayt's mouth.

Albel broke away form the kiss and stared at Fayt contemplatively. He experimentally flicked one of Fayt's nipples and then closed down on it with his mouth.

Fayt whimpered and arched backwards, panting heavily. "A-Albel," he whined.

Albel lifted his head. "It's alright, Fayt," he said soothingly. He moved on to Fayt's other nipple, gently teasing it with the tip of his tongue.

Fayt squirmed beneath him, his face flushed with desire. Albel was enjoying seeing how responsive Fayt was to his touch.

"You've never done this with anyone before, have you?" Albel asked teasingly.

Fayt shook his head, too far gone for words.

Albel's eyes glittered with lust. "Then I'll be your first," he purred silkily.

Albel's hands trailed down Fayt's chest and stopped at the waistband of Fayt's pants. He gently unzipped them and placed a hand on Fayt's crotch.

Fayt reacted instantly, his hips bucking forward.

"Hmmn…interesting," Albel murmured.

Fayt flushed with embarrassment. "Ah-I'm sorry Albel. It just feels so…I can't control myself."

"I didn't say it was a bad thing," Albel said with a light tug on one of Fayt's ears. "It's not everyday that one gets to deflower a virgin. Most of us are already sex veterans at your age. It's a unique experience. I'm just savoring the moment."

Fayt pouted. "You've had sex with lots of people before me?"

Albel shrugged. "It's a fact of life, love. And believe me, once I show you how good sex feels, you'll want it all the time too. Now, let's continue." He tugged off Fayt's pants and casually discarded them to the floor. He gently stoked up the inside of Fayt's thighs and placed his thumb in the center of Fayt's underwear.

Fayt threw his head back with a whimper. "Ah-"

"Albel!" a stern voice rang out. "What in the world are you doing in here?"

Fayt froze and let out a startled squeak. His eyes widened with fear as they met Albel's, questioning what he should do.

"I'll take care of it, Fayt," Albel whispered softly.

Albel sat up and scowled at his dad as he entered the garage. "I think it's pretty obvious what I'm doing, Dad."

"But why on earth do you have to do it in here? You're mother has been worried sick about you. We've searched everywhere."

Albel crossed his arms over his chest. "Apparently you haven't been looking hard enough."

Fayt drew himself up into a little huddle on the couch. "I'd like my pants back now," he said quietly.

Albel bent down and tossed Fayt's pants back onto the couch. Fayt slipped off the couch and stood behind it modestly as he pulled his pants back on.

"Dad, why do you have to interrupt us now?" Albel complained. "Fayt and I were having fun."

"I'd rather you have fun in your own room or at least tell us that you're going to be in here. We haven't heard anything from you. You just disappeared for 5 days. Surely you can't have been having sex the whole time."

Fayt's face turned bright red and Albel patted Fayt's knee comfortingly. "Don't worry, he's not mad at you. This happens to everyone. It's not a big deal if your parents catch you in the act. It's a little embarrassing, but you won't get thrown out of the house or anything. There's just mad at me for not telling them I'd be down here. Mom's a worrywart."

"She worries for a good reason," Mr. Nox growled. "You're a little too careless. Most teenagers think there's nothing in life to worry about. Just go along having sex with whoever you want. But energy vampires are still out there and we would hate for something bad to happen to you."

"Oh, give me a break,' Albel growled. "I can take care of myself. Come on, Fayt. Let's go to the park and continue this away from dad."


	16. The End

A/N: I know…it took me a lot of time in finishing this. I have been working on this chapter off and on for the past week or so and finally it's done. It's probably crappy and overly dramatic…but at least it's done. I had to make it extra-long because I couldn't stand tempting you rabid lemon fans for much longer before I'd be eaten alive.

Disclaimer: I don't own…never will.

Fayt self-consciously clutched at Albel's shirt. "Why do we have to be here?" he whimpered. "I don't like this at all. I feel so…exposed."

Albel glanced at their little spot in the park, surrounded on three sides by thick bushes. "Relax, Fayt. We're safe here. We're not completely out in the open, and even if we were, you don't need to be afraid of anyone."

"It's just so weird to be out in the open…where everyone can watch us. It just makes me really uncomfortable."

Albel kissed Fayt's forehead. "We don't have to do anything yet. We're just taking small steps to get you used to the world. We'll just hang out here for a few hours. It'll be nice to get away from my parents for the rest of the evening."

"You've been away from your parents for five days now. Don't they want to see you? Eat dinner with you?"

Albel made a dismissive noise. "They don't care, as long as they know where I am. If I'm gone for a few days and they don't know where I am, they'll start to think a vampire got me."

Fayt whimpered and buried his face in Albel's shirt. "I won't kill anyone…I promise."

Albel soothingly rubbed Fayt's back. "I know, I know. You're cured."

Fayt lifted his head. "What if I'm not really cured?"

Albel frowned. "How could you possibly not be cured?"

Fayt sniffled. "Well, what if you're just so used to it…that it doesn't affect you anymore?"

Albel sighed. "You're overreacting, Fayt. Come on, let's sit down and calm down. This a good spot?"

Fayt nodded and slowly sat down on the dry grass next to Albel. Albel pulled a bag of pretzels out of his jacket pocket and offered it to Fayt. Fayt cautiously took one and began munching it thoughtfully.

Fayt shut his eyes in bliss. "Mmmn…this is the best pretzel I've ever had."

Albel frowned at the bag of generic pretzel sticks. "Fayt, these are cheap pretzels. God, you must've been deprived if you've had worse."

Fayt opened his eyes and smiled at Albel. "They just taste good. Can I have another one, please?"

Grudgingly, Albel held out the bag to Fayt and Fayt began munching contentedly. "Mmmn…these are so good," Fayt murmured.

Albel rolled his eyes. "For God's sake, Fayt. They aren't that great, so quit acting like you have an orgasm every time you eat one."

Fayt turned pink. "A-Albel," he whimpered.

Albel snorted. "You've eaten plenty at my house, even though it won't fill you up, but just to be polite. So don't tell me you haven't had good food before."

"I don't mean to offend your mom's cooking," Fayt said quickly. "It's just…amazing how much flavor those have. It's like nothing ever tasted so vibrant before."

Albel cocked his head and looked Fayt over carefully. "Yeah, you're definitely cured," he said at last. "You have to eat just like the rest of us."

Albel was caught off guard when Fayt threw himself at Albel. "Oh, you're right," Fayt said happily. "How can I ever thank you?"

"Well…" Albel said mischievously.

Fayt turned a bright red. "Albel," he protested. "Not here. I don't want anyone to see me naked except you."

Albel smirked and pinched Fayt's cheek. "You're cute. You know that?"

Fayt glowered at him. "I'm not a little kid. Don't do that." He rubbed his cheek irritably.

Albel's smirk grew. "Really? If you're not a kid, we should be fine doing adult stuff."

Fayt pouted. "Albel, you know I don't want to go rushing into that stuff. I'm not ready for it."

"Fayt, you'll keep psyching yourself out and telling yourself that you're not ready. But you are. If it hadn't been for my dad, I would have had you back in the garage."

Fayt turned pink. "Wha-what do you mean?"

"Think about it, Fayt. You were stripped down to your underwear. Logically, what do you think the next step would be? Now, I know you're worried about losing your virginity and you're over thinking things. But once you get into the moment, you forget about all that and you'll have a great time. Want to have a try?"

"Alright," Fayt murmured reluctantly.

"Good. Now lie down. Nice and easy." Albel gently pushed Fayt down on his back in the grass. Fayt looked up at him fearfully.

"There, just like that." Albel laughed at Fayt's expression. "Don't look so worried, love. You're going to have so much fun and you won't even have time to think about all those worries in that pretty little head of yours."

Fayt flushed. "It's not my fault that I'm so worried. I've never done anything like this before…never really heard anything about this kind of thing before. It's probably going to hurt, isn't it? Will I get pregnant?"

Albel snickered. "Sex isn't just about knocking someone up. Yes, it probably will hurt…but I'll try to distract you as much as possible. And next time, it won't hurt as bad. It's always a little painful for virgins, breaking their little bodies in."

Fayt began an indignant retort, but Albel covered Fayt's mouth with his own and his tongue gently, but insistently demanded entrance into Fayt's mouth.

Fayt whimpered as his whole body fell limp, surrendering to Albel's advances. His eyes slid shut and his lips parted.

Albel let his tongue do a brief exploration of Fayt's mouth before he pulled away. "There, that wasn't so hard," he whispered huskily in Fayt's ear. Fayt shuddered as Albel licked the shell of his ear.

"Want me to continue?" Albel murmured.

"Please," Fayt whimpered as Albel began to lick at Fayt's collarbone.

"Are you sure?" Albel asked lazily. "I can barely hear you."

Fayt grabbed onto Albel and pulled him in for a kiss that Albel willingly deepened as Fayt slid into the submissive role.

A light suddenly shone on the pair. Fayt frantically pulled away from Albel and stared up fearfully at the newcomer.

A wizened old policeman stared down at them thoughtfully. "Hello, you two. Don't stop on account of me. Just making sure everything is in order." His gaze lingered a moment on Fayt.

Albel pasted an innocent smile on his face. "It's okay, officer. My father caught me with my lover in the garage today so he's a little skittish. He thinks my father's still out to get him."

The officer looked sympathetic. "Yes…I remember those days too, when I was in my youth. How I missed that girl…" He suddenly roused himself. "Just you boys be careful. I don't want you to get caught by vampires."

Fayt's heartbeat quickened and Albel kissed Fayt's cheek soothingly. "It's okay," Albel whispered. "He's not after you anymore."

Fayt took a deep breath and willed himself to calm down. He smiled shakily.

"It seems strange, how long you two have been out here," the officer continued. "Almost an hour and still haven't lost a scarp of clothing. Not up to something rotten are you?" He leveled a steely gaze at them. "If you're not at this park for romancing, I have a right to know."

"Oh, don't you worry, officer," Albel said quickly, before Fayt started panicking again. "We just like plenty of foreplay. Now, excuse us please." He grabbed Fayt and pulled him into a fierce kiss.

The policeman nodded approvingly and moved on his rounds.

As soon as the man was out of sight, Fayt jerked out of Albel's embrace. "You told me that they wouldn't be watching us!" he snapped.

"They're not watching the whole time," Albel said soothingly. "He just looked up now and then and noticed we weren't doing anything but talking and thought maybe we were terrorists. If he noticed us doing anything remotely looking like sex, he would have ignored it."

Fayt frowned. "I don't want people to watch us."

Albel sighed. "They don't know us. What do we care what people think of us?"

Fayt bit his lip. "I-well…" He sighed unhappily. "I guess you're right. And you said it's perfectly normal? We won't get in trouble with it?"

"Perfectly normal," Albel assured him. In fact, it would be really suspicious if we didn't."

Fayt sighed. "Well, I guess so."

Albel turned serious. "Fayt, sex isn't something you say about, 'Oh well, might as well do it'. Sex is a serious matter. Now, if you truly don't have feelings that strong for me, you're just wasting your time."

Fayt looked fearful. "I mean…I don't know anything."

"No, of course you don't. I'm doing a favor for you by taking your virginity. You're considered a little old to lose it, but due to your circumstance, it's understandable. No one else will understand the reasons because they weren't with you like I am. Maybe we won't end up together later, but if I don't have sex with you now, no one will in the future. They'll think something must be wrong with you if no one was willing to sleep with you."

Fayt nodded. "I do care about you, Albel. I know most people now don't stay with one partner, and in case we ever break up, I want the ability to move on to someone else. I don't want to be lonely forever."

"Good, then let's get started."

Fayt watched with interest as Albel began gently removing his clothes. Albel gave Fayt a teasing smile. "And after going on so much about not wanting people to watch you, here you are ogling me."

Fayt ducked his head and rolled on to his stomach. "Can't help it, Albel. I've never seen anyone naked before."

"Boy, you really do have a lot to learn." Albel cocked his head to one side. "Okay, your turn now. Strip for me, Fayt."

"But I-"

"Don't make me have to do it for you," Albel said warningly. "My hands tend to wander."

Fayt grinned. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

Albel raised an eyebrow. "Kinky. I like it."

A few minutes later, Fayt was completely naked and pinned to the ground by Albel. Albel was nipping at Fayt's throat and Fayt was panting heavily. He struggled to get out from under Albel. "Ah-ah…stop it, Albel. Please-ah."

"Stop? And leave you with this?" Albel affectionately patted Fayt's arousal, earning a soft moan from his trapped lover.

"Stop the-ah-stop teasing me."

Albel delicately raised an eyebrow. "Ooh...I like the sound of that. My lovely little Fayt is begging for me to take him?"

"Anything," Fayt whimpered. "It hurts so bad…I'm going to burst."

"Can't have that, can we?" Albel licked a hot, wet trail down Fayt's chest and stopped just short of Fayt's erection. He eyed it and then licked the tip of it, enjoying Fayt's throaty moan. "Feel a little better now?"

"Yes," Fayt gasped.

"Good. Then we'll move on to something else."

"Albel," Fayt groaned.

"Not tonight, love. Maybe the next time. That's not how I want you to lose it to me. We have to be connected."

"You're still teasing me," Fayt growled.

Albel wrapped his slim fingers around Fayt's erection and gave it a quick pump. "No, just keeping your attention. Now, spread your legs, Fayt."

Fayt obeyed him, willing to do anything to get rid of the throbbing between his legs.

Albel squeezed a small amount of lotion onto his hand and gently pushed one finger inside Fayt's opening.

Fayt let out a soft cry of pain. "What're you doing?"

"Stretching you out."

"It hurts!"

"It'll only hurt worse if I don't,' Albel said calmly, wiggling the offending finger inside Fayt some more.

"Aaagh," Fayt whimpered. "A-Albel."

Albel's expression was unreadable as he removed the finger and poured more lotion over his hand.

Fayt closed his eyes and sighed. "Albel, I-" He squirmed suddenly as Albel pushed the finger back in, this time with a second finger.

"Stop," Fayt whined. "It hurts."

Albel said nothing and continued scissoring his fingers inside of Fayt, slowly stretching him out.

"Done yet?" Fayt asked as Albel removed the two fingers.

"No, one more."

Fayt groaned. "And then you'll be done?"

"And then I'll be done," Albel agreed. "With stretching you out. And then we'll move on to the real thing."

"Will that hurt too?"

"Probably. Virgins are always built a little too tight and they have to be stretched out. But next time it won't hurt so badly."

Fayt sighed and willed himself to stay still as Albel prodded at him with his three fingers, slowly stretching them apart, exploring Fayt's insides. The pain had faded to a dull ache.

Fayt moaned and arched back as one of Albel's questing fingers found the spot inside of him where all the pain exploded into pleasure.

Albel smirked and continued to stroke the bundle of nerves with his finger. Fayt mewled and pressed back against Albel's fingers, trying to get more of the wonderful feeling.

Abruptly, Albel removed his fingers and Fayt let out a groan of disappointment. "Why'd you stop?"

"Now we get to move on to the real thing," Albel said calmly.

Fayt swallowed hard and looked at Albel's erection uncertainly. "Are you sure that'll fit?"

"It will," Albel said soothingly. He gently spread Fayt's legs further apart and dipped a finger into the lotion to spread around Fayt's entrance to make it easier on the boy.

The evening was fading to a deep, dark night. Other couples were now in the park. Fayt could hear distant voices. But they wouldn't be seen. Fayt could barely make out Albel's face even though he was so close.

Fayt gasped and his eyes welled with tears as Albel slowly pushed into his body. Albel was moved very slowly, trying not to hurt Fayt. But pain would be inevitable owing to the fact that Albel's size was much larger than three fingers.

Once Albel was fully sheathed inside Fayt's body, he waited, waited for Fayt to adjust. He listened to Fayt's heavy breathing and felt the tight, stubborn resistance from Fayt's muscles.

But at last, Fayt's body began to relax and Albel took it as his signal to continue. He took careful aim and thrust forward at the spot that had been Fayt's earlier source of pleasure.

Fayt let out a soft cry and arched upwards and then limply fell back onto his back, panting heavily.

"More," Fayt whispered.

Albel increased the pace eagerly, delighting in Fayt's cries and the look of ecstasy on his face. Fayt moaned and thrashed beneath him as Albel continued pounding into his lover's warm body. Fayt handled the quick pace of Albel's thrusts remarkably, always begging for more.

Fayt was a virgin with absolutely no sexual experience, so it couldn't be helped that sex with Fayt couldn't last as long as Albel wanted it to. Fayt held on as long as he could before collapsing with a harsh scream, his body spent.

As Fayt tried to fight off the hazy dreaminess overtaking him, Albel continued to thrust into Fayt until his own release. Albel collapsed on top of Fayt with a heavy groan and kissed him gently. "You were good, Fayt. And not just good for a virgin. We'll have to do this again."

"Not now," Fayt whimpered. "I'm too tired."

"Not now, of course. I'll let you sleep, recover."

"Maybe tomorrow," Fayt murmured drowsily. "If you promise me something."

"What's that?"

"You can't kill any vampires. I mean…not unless they're the bad kind, the ones that kill people on purpose."

"I won't. I promise." Albel settled onto his back next to Fayt and pulled a blanket over the two of them. 'After all, if you can be cured, so can they. They just need to find someone who knows what they are and accepts them anyway."

"Mmhm," Fayt said softly. "if only everything could be fixed by love." Then he dropped off to sleep.


End file.
